A MAN whose rescue led to a mountain rescue team member falling and sustaining serious injuries has said his actions will 'live with me forever'.

The man, from Leicester, broke lockdown rules to head to Cumbria and camp with his friend on Red Screes, between Patterdale and Ambleside.

However, after he developed a pain in his chest, he called for help.

During the rescue, a member of Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team fell 150m down steep ground and was airlifted to hospital. He is in a 'serious but stable' condition.

“I completely regret everything," said the Leicester man, who is in his forties and has a history of heart difficulties.

"My actions that night will live with me forever, because of what happened."

He and his friend, who is from the Liverpool area, were handed fixed penalty notices of £200.

The man said he suffered from anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression and his friend had talked him into the trip as a way of helping with these issues.

"I deserved the fine, I deserved it absolutely," he said.

"I should never have broken the rules.

"I should have found another way to cope with my mental health.”

The pair arrived on Friday afternoon.

"When we pulled up in the car, there was nobody around, we were literally the only two people in that area," said the man.

"There were no other cars in the car park.

“I said to my mate, ‘it doesn’t look good, I’ve got a bad feeling about this’.

“He just said ‘you’ll be fine, you’re with me’."

The man said that, during the night, he left the tent to go to the toilet. He slipped on some ice, causing the top of his body to 'jolt'.

As he reentered the tent, he felt a pain in his chest.

“I thought I was going to have a heart attack," he said.

“Three-and-a-half years ago I had a mild heart attack and I’ve had two heart operations.

"I couldn’t wake my friend up. He was flat out, he had gone.

"He’d had a couple of bottles of lager but I don’t drink because of my heart.”

The man realised he had brought the wrong first aid kit so did not have his medication with him.

However, he waited 30 minutes before calling for help.

“I knew what was going happen. I knew they’d have to send someone out to me," he said.

"I knew it was horrendous outside. I knew the conditions were bad.”

He was eventually stretchered off and was taken to the Cumberland Infirmary.

He said 'something came up on the ECG' scan of his heart and, speaking yesterday, he said he was due to attend hospital in Leicester later that day.

Cumbria Constabulary has pleaded with the public to 'stay home as much as possible' in the wake of the incident.

Assistant Chief Constable Andrew Slattery said: "Now is not a time to be taking unnecessary risks as our ambulance service and hospitals are still under extreme pressure from high numbers of Covid patients."