Walker with foot pain found safe near Tarnbrook after search

Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue Team was called out on Thursday 24 September 2026 to look for a 19-year-old woman reporting pain in her feet near Tarnbrook.

The North West Ambulance Service asked the team to locate and treat the woman, who was said to be walking the Wyre Way carrying a heavy rucksack.

Team members went onto the fell to search for her, but after some time they had not found her.

While the search was under way, the team learned that she had walked off the fell with her partner and made her own way to Clitheroe. "The Team stood down," the team said in a post on its website.

The team said 17 volunteers were involved, and the incident lasted nearly three hours.

The area

Tarnbrook lies near Ward's Stone, the highest hill in the Forest of Bowland. Its flat top has two trig points roughly a kilometre apart, and the western one sits on large rocks, including the Ward's Stone itself, which draws climbers and boulderers. (Wikipedia)

The team

Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue Team is a voluntary charity covering the Mid Pennine search and rescue region, working on behalf of Lancashire Police. It recorded 67 call-outs in 2025, according to the Mountain Rescue England and Wales annual review. (Mountain Rescue England and Wales, Bowland Pennine MRT)

Staying safe

Anyone in difficulty in the hills should dial 999 or 112 and ask for the police, then mountain rescue, giving their location, details of the casualty and the size of their party, according to Mountain Rescue England and Wales. (mountain.rescue.org.uk)

Read Bowland Pennine MRT’s original post on its website.

Sources

1. Spot Pick Up: Tarnbrook Bowland Pennine MRT
2. Ward's Stone Wikipedia
3. MREW Annual Review 2026, incident figures January to December 2025 Mountain Rescue England and Wales
4. Bowland Pennine MRT website Bowland Pennine MRT
5. In an emergency in the hills, dial 999 or 112, ask for the police, then mountain rescue. mountain.rescue.org.uk