Yorkshire Water warning as woman has to be rescued after getting stuck while exploring ruins of lost village in reservoir

Yorkshire Water has warned people to keep away from the buildings on the dried-up beds of reservoir after a woman had to be rescued from thigh-deep mud and a man hurt his leg when he slipped on a slope.

Edale Mountain Rescue Team said: “A couple of jobs back to back both involved sightseers around the old Derwent village that is now accessible, but with care

"In the first, a walker had taken a tumble whilst walking down the banks of Ladybower Reservoir to view the exposed remains of Derwent village.

“The walker was treated for a painful leg injury and evacuated back up to the main track to rendezvous with an ambulance for onward transport to hospital.

“Just as we were returning to base to clean and sort kit from, we were contacted by Derbyshire Constabulary requesting us to attend to another incident on the banks of Ladybower Reservoir. This time some walkers had headed out onto the exposed mud banks near the aqueduct pipe and one had become firmly stuck. Although unhurt the walker had managed to sink up to their thighs and was unable to move any further.

“Using a combination of spinal and mud boards, digging and manpower, the unfortunate walker was quickly extricated from their muddy location and brought back to more firmer ground.”

Yorkshire Water added: “You might've noticed if you've been to our reservoirs recently that the dry weather we had in summer has left some areas of the reservoir that are usually underwater exposed. There is a danger of deep mud in these areas and we've had incidents this summer when emergency services have attended our sites to rescue people who walked into the deep mud.

“If you're visiting our reservoirs this half-term, please stick to the public footpaths and don't take any risks by entering the exposed areas of the reservoirs or the water.”

Derwent was one of two villages ‘flooded’ in 1944 for the reservoir’s construction, with the loss of its hall and church.

Although Ladybower is owned by Severn Trent Water, several reservoirs under Yorkshire Water’s management also contain the remains of abandoned villages.