A ROYAL Air Force crew member from Burnley is in line for a national lifesavers award after helping to rescue a seriously injured climber from Snowdonia.

Flight Sergeant Alec Aspden, who is based in Anglesey but is originally from Burnley, was the winchman on the helicopter which helped to save the stricken climber despite terrible weather conditions.

He and the rest of the crew - Flight Lieutenant Iain Smith, Flight Sergeant Andy Caterall and Flight Lieutenant Dave Kenyon - have been named the regional winners in the Welsh heat of the Vodafone Lifesavers Awards.

They will now take part in the national competition and, if they are successful, will be invited to a reception with Prime Minister Gordon Brown at Downing Street.

Their helicopter Rescue 122 was scrambled after reports of a seriously injured climber stranded near the summit of Glyder Fach, a 3,000 ft peak in Snowdonia.

Weather conditions were so severe that the rescue seemed impossible.

Low cloud, heavy rain and gale force winds meant near-zero visibility and dangerous turbulence throughout the mountains challenged even the extensive experience of the helicopter's captain, Flt Lt Kenyon.

The decision was taken to withdraw to pick up members of the Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team (MRT) and, following a lengthy and difficult hover-taxi through cloud, the team was eventually winched down to two separate sites some 500 metres from the stranded climber.

As daylight faded, the helicopter returned to RAF Valley to refuel and pick up more MRT personnel to help with the rescue effort.

The crew succeeded in dropping a total of 22 ground-based rescuers before waiting at the nearest landing site for them to recover the casualty.

As they struggled to winch the stretcher on board, the weather intensified, with the helicopter buffeted by turbulence, vicious hail and winds in excess of 60 knots.

Vodafone UK's Julien Cozens said: "Modesty is a very British trait and anyone who has shown extreme courage should be recognised. We want to make sure that acts of bravery, such as Rescue 122 crew's, do not go unnoticed."