Hunt to find two rescued walkers ‘who fled hotel that put them up late at night after seven-hour mission without paying’

Two hikers are being forced to pay for a hotel that housed them late at night after being rescued from a mountain in ‘dangerous conditions’.

Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team said two teenagers were called to an ‘avoidable’ seven-hour rescue operation on Cumbria’s Scafell Pike, England’s highest mountain, on December 29.

Once off the mountain, they were taken to the nearby Wasdale Head Inn after the manager offered them food and a room at a 35 percent discount.

But the next morning the walkers told the staff ‘no’ and even demanded transport, breakfast and further reductions in cost from the hotel.

Four weeks later the bill had not been paid and the men had not contacted the hotel or the rescue team.

The hotel agreed to waive the fee, but the rescuers felt ‘obligated to refund’ so they could rely on their support in the future.

A spokesman for the Wasdale team said: ‘We refrain from judging those we rescued but find it difficult to understand when those rescued benefited from the hospitality provided by our supporters in the valley.’

The hikers claimed they left their money in a tent left near Green Gable when they were rescued, but agreed to send the £130 back later.

The men were brought down from Britain’s highest mountain (pictured) in a seven-hour rescue operation.

The phone number they left at the hotel was not working.

The team said that the duo did not return the head torches lent to them by the volunteers while descending from the mountain.

“We attempted to contact the two hikers to encourage them to settle their debts with the hotel and also return their head torches,” a team spokesman said.

‘We would also like to return the hospital crutches left in our vehicle, which a person who had previously suffered a leg injury used while climbing, but unfortunately there has been no response to date.’

The team said they had already raised over £2,200 and were ‘overwhelmed by the generosity’ of support.

A spokesperson said in a social media post: ‘The purpose of the post was to encourage lost walkers to pay hotel bills, return missing torches and if this fails to raise money to cover the loss. We now have more than enough.

‘Wasdale Head Inn was more than willing to cover the damages, but we want to compensate them and honor our original promise to take on any losses.

‘Any additional funds raised will go directly towards the team’s operational costs, which exceed £100,000 per year.’

Volunteers say two men ‘benefitted’ from hospitality offered by team and a local hotel

One of the men had left a hospital crutches in the rescuers’ van from a previous leg injury.

The team was called to rescue the men from the Gauntlet Route just before the Bad Step, a steep climb up the mountain.

The men had been found by a nearby wild camper who heard the shouts and sheltered them in his tent at Chriscliffe Knotts until the team arrived.

Rescuers arrived and gave the two men extra warm jackets and microspikes to help them get down the mountain safely.

The team said one of the hikers had a previous knee injury, which was made worse during the descent, and he was given a simple painkiller to help.

A spokesman for the team added: ‘When they arrived safely back on the valley floor in the early hours of the next day, wet and hungry, Steve, the bar manager at the Wasdale Head Inn, agreed to stay awake, provide some snacks and allow the two men to stay in one of the vacant flats at a significant 35 per cent discount.

‘The two had already agreed to pay, but their money was in their tent high on the hillside near Green Gable.

‘Disappointingly, they did not thank the hotel for their efforts in the morning, asked for further reductions in cost, pushed hard for breakfast and asked if they could arrange transport to get them out of the valley.

‘The answer was: Sorry there is nothing extra and please transfer funds when possible.

‘Unfortunately no payment has been made to the hotel for the outstanding room charge of £130 or thank you Steve. The phone number given to Steve did not work either.

‘As a voluntary organization we also miss the two torches that were lent to them to help them get them down the mountain safely.

‘The hotel has already agreed to cover the damage, thanks to Steve and the hotel owner. However, as we have promised to compensate for the damage caused by the hikers’ failure to pay, we feel obliged to compensate the hotel from our own resources so that similar hospitality can be requested under similar circumstances in the future.’