Three Peaks walker who got lost on Christmas Day 'apologised unreservedly' to mountain rescue teams who searched for him - and gave them ale and chocolates

Russell Connell, 44, had set off at dawn and caught the sunrise on Pen-y-Ghent before successfully ascending Whernside, and was heading for the summit of Ingleborough when he got into difficulty as dusk fell.

He took a wrong turn when trying to find a diversionary route that has been in place since the main footpath up the mountain was closed off for repairs earlier this year.

Mr Connell became lost and his GPS device and mobile phone, which he had been using to navigate, both ran out of power. Although he had a spare battery pack, he realised he had left the charging cable in his car.

A search party of volunteers from the Cave Rescue Organisation was sent to look for Mr Connell after he managed to call a friend before his mobile phone died, but the friend was unable to give rescue teams an accurate location.

The errant walker was left embarrassed after he managed to follow a drystone wall down the hill into Ribblesdale, from where he was able to pick up the road to Horton-in-Ribblesdale, where had had parked, to discover that the CRO had left a note on his windscreen and he realised that the search was still underway. Rescuers had driven along the road shortly before without spotting him.

Mr Connell disputes the description of him as being 'not appropriately dressed' in the CRO's incident log, arguing that he was wearing several layers and a waterproof, and was also carrying three torches, a map and a compass, the latter of which he used to head east in complete darkness.

"I genuinely thought that I was 'gone for a Burton' (a phrase meaning dead or missing, popularised by the RAF during World War Two) and my descent took three and a half hours to get back to my car. What a comedown, as I'd ascended in complete darkness the magical Pen-y-Gent in 70 minutes to see a beautiful sunrise.

"I apologised unreservedly to Michael Hale from CRO HQ, and to the chaps who had returned to my car once he'd stood them down.

"I also thought that the decent thing to do was to surrender my bottle of Theakston's Old Peculiar and bag of Quality Street, that I'd planned to celebrate with at the top of the third peak, to the chaps who'd been out looking for me.

"I deserve all of the flak that is coming my way.

"The only explanation that I can think about with regards to my clothing is that all four of the layers are black and in darkness could look underwhelming.

"I spent just over 13 hours in -2 degree temperatures feeling sufficiently warm, apart from my nose that stuck out from between my snood and hat.

"The major reason for me needing assistance was my own incompetence in not carrying out a final checklist, before starting my ascent earlier in the day.

"The temporary path isn't an issue, as an experienced walker my reliance upon technology rather than map and compass has made me realise that the traditional methods should always take precedence.

"I would like to thank my emergency contact, North Yorkshire Police and the Cave Rescue Organisation for looking out for me."

To make a donation to the volunteer-run Cave Rescue Organisation, click here.