A WALKER who fell on rocks and broke his leg crawled a quarter of a mile across a moor to summon help.

Neil Thompson, 33, of Mount Terrace, Rawtenstall, had been walking across Haslingden Grane, near to Musbury Chimney, when the accident happened at about 2.30pm yesterday.

The team leader of the Rossendale Search and Rescue Team, Dave Barrington, said: "The man had a compound fracture but he managed to crawl over the ground to a footpath where he knew walkers would find him.

"Where he had fallen he would probably not have been seen so he had the good sense to get himself to a path.

"He had been on the moor for about an hour and was very cold and in a lot of pain so we administered pain relief."

The path was about a mile from the main road, but the Search and Rescue Team Land Rovers managed to get within 200 metres of Mr Thompson.

Mr Barrington said: "We put him on a mountain rescue stretcher and carried him to the vehicle and then took him to Bury General Hospital. He was operated on last night to straighten his leg and it is likely the bones will have to be pinned.

"The rescue was a good joint effort between the ambulance, ourselves and the police.

"If anyone is going walking it is always useful to let people known what route you are going to take and what time you expect to be home, especially when walking alone. If we have a route to check it makes any rescue easier."

Twelve volunteers from the rescue team attended with two vehicles. Mr Thompson is in a stable condition in hospital today.

It is the third time the team has been called out in as many weeks. The other incidents were a trials rider who had crashed above Whitworth and a walker who fell and broke his leg above Cowpe.

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