Stricken walkers rescued after exploring ruins exposed by low Derbyshire reservoir

But this weekend, members of the Peak District’s famous rescue team were instead pulling people to safety from the muddy banks of the Derwent reservoirs. They were called out after walkers exploring exposed parts of former villages, which were flooded when the reservoirs were created, ran into trouble in the mud.

The team revealed they had several calls this weekend, and now they have put out a warning for people to be careful if they go to explore the ruins.

“The water level is low in the Derwent Valley reservoirs, exposing various ruins," they said. "Beware of the mud if you do venture out to take a look. A couple of callouts for us there yesterday. One walker with an ankle injury and a lady stuck in the mud.”

The first of the incidents on Saturday saw the team sent by East Midlands Ambulance Service just after 2pm to attend to a walker who had taken a tumble whilst walking down the banks of Ladybower Reservoir to view the exposed remains of Derwent Village.

The walker was treated for a painful leg injury and evacuated back up to the main track to an ambulance to take them to hospital.

Then, just as they were returning to base to clean and sort kit from, they were contacted by Derbyshire police asking them to help someone on the banks of Ladybower Reservoir. This time some walkers had headed out onto the exposed mud banks near the aqueduct pipe and one had become firmly stuck.

A spokesman said: “Although unhurt the walker had managed to sink up to their thighs and was unable to move any further. Using a combination of spinal and mud boards, digging and man power the unfortunate walker was quickly extricated from their muddy location and brought back to more firmer ground.

"Back to base to clean some very muddy kit. A couple of timely reminders of the risks associated with walking down towards the currently extremely low reservoir water levels.”