A RUNNER from Otley is in hospital with serious injuries after plunging nearly 70ft on Scafell Pike in Cumbria.

The man, who is aged in his 40s, fell while taking part in an endurance event on the mountain yesterday afternoon.

A fellow athlete raised the alarm after the man slipped into a "precarious" plank on the Greta Gill part of the mountain.

The runner was treated at the scene before being flown to the valley bottom where the air ambulance crew treated him further. He was then airlifted to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.

Wasdale Mountain Rescue team leader Mike Gullen said: "It was a pretty serious incident. The man was falling in and out of consciousness when we got to him. He had multiple and very serious injuries and was taken to hospital."

Mr Gullen added: "The alarm was raised swiftly. But it is important to remember that people contacting the emergency services should ask for the police, as they are the ones who will get in touch with Mountain Rescue."