Injured mother found by her 11-year-old son

Police and ambulance crews were called to a house in Ingleby Arncliffe, near Northallerton, North Yorkshire, at 4.10pm on Tuesday.

The woman, named locally as 53-year-old Margaret Barlow, was airlifted to The James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough by the Great North Air Ambulance.

She is believed to be a midwife at the same hospital and was said to be in a serious but stable condition last night.

It is understood that the alarm was raised by her 11-year-old son, who found her lying at the bottom of the stairs when he came home from school.

Mrs Barlow also has an older daughter.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said yesterday the force is not treating her injuries as suspicious and is not looking for anyone in connection with them.

However, there remained a large police presence in Ingleby Arncliffe yesterday, and a mobile police station was located at the edge of the village.

Officers interviewed residents of nearby houses, while a road linking the village to the A19 was sealed off all day.

One resident, who asked not to be named, said: “There has been a white forensic tent outside the house all day, and a search of all the hedges.

“There was also what looked like a fingertip search of the street.

“They had lived in the village for eight or nine years, and weren’t all that well known. They kept themselves to themselves really.”

It is the second time this week that Ingleby Arncliffe, on the edge of the North York Moors, has been in the news.

On Monday, Hambleton District Council planning officers demolished a £400,000 house that had built without planning permission, after a fiveyear legal fight.

Last night, another resident said: “People say this is a tranquil village but it certainly hasn’t been this week, with all this going on.”

Anyone who can help with police with their inquiries is asked to call 0845-60-60-247 or Crimestoppers on 0800-555-111.