A COUPLE in their eighties were charged at and knocked to the ground by a bullock while out walking.

The husband and wife were walking on a path through fields near Braithwaite, Keswick, at about 1pm on Sunday, when the animal turned on them, leaving the man with a hip injury and in need of hospital treatment.

They managed to get to the next field where they called for help.

Keswick Mountain Rescue Team (MRT) was already dealing with a complex rescue at Great End, in the Scafell region, but managed to mobilise additional team members.

They were checked over by medics at the scene and the man was taken to the Cumberland Infirmary by his wife.

Meanwhile 15 members of Keswick MRT, along with seven colleagues from Cockermouth MRT, had come to the rescue of a man who had fallen while descending The Band on Great End, above Sprinkling Tarn, at about 10.30am that morning.

Commenting on the near six-hour rescue, a spokesman for Keswick MRT said it was a "nasty tumble amongst the sharp and loose boulders resulting in a deep laceration to his calf”.

"Thankfully the man was with a friend who managed to give him first aid until more help arrived.

“Fortunately the pair, who had camped out on Esk Hause the previous night, were very well-prepared,” the spokesman continued.

“His mate did a good job of dressing and bandaging the injury with their own first aid kit. He helped make the casualty as comfortable as possible with his injured leg elevated to help reduce pain and swelling.

“They were then able to call 999 and ask for mountain rescue assistance.

“With Keswick team members low in numbers, Cockermouth team were asked to help out due to the anticipated long carry out.

“When enough team members were present the man was loaded onto a stretcher and carried down the scree slope, initially with the help of a safety back rope due to the steep and rough ground. It was then a case of doing shifts on the stretcher for the long carry back to Seathwaite via Sty Head.”

The men were then taken to their car in the team’s Landrover and made their own way to hospital.

Keswick MRT said they were “extremely grateful” to Cockermouth team members for their assistance.

The two rescues involved a total of 34 mountain rescuers.

Keswick MRT, which is made up of 49 volunteers, has dealt with 41 incidents this year, with almost half of those taking place since the beginning of July.

Both mountain rescue teams rely on donations to operate.