A GROUP of walkers had to be rescued from a remote moorland in the region, after becoming stranded by deep snow drifts in sub-zero temperatures.

The five men got into difficulty on the edge of Cropton Forest, at Stape, near Pickering, North Yorkshire, on Friday evening.

Police and mountain rescue volunteers trekked for more than hour to reach the group, after a being alerted at about 5.25pm.

Rescuers found the stranded men, gave them medical checks and walked them 2.5km to safety.

None of the walkers suffered serious injury.

The drama began to unfold when one of the five, who are all from York, called the emergency services to say that he had become separated from his friends.

It is understood that the rest of the group realised he was lost and re-traced their steps to find him.

All five men began to show signs of hypothermia as they battled through 4ft snowdrifts and temperatures of -8C.

They were fully equipped for the conditions and were able to make hot food and drink, as well as lighting a fire to keep them going while the rescue effort was put into action.

To help their situation, they device which gave a grid reference to their exact location, which was a well-known area on a shooting estate.

The rescue operation was involved North Yorkshire Police and the Scarborough and Ryedale Mountain Rescue Team.

Initial attempts by police officers to reach the men were thwarted by waist-high snow.

Air support was also available, with a Sea King helicopter from RAF Valley, on Anglesey, North Wales, on its way to the scene, but later stood down en route.

The rescue team arrived in Stape at 7.15pm and completed the operation at about 10pm.

Throughout the rescue, police control room operators remained in contact with the stranded men to offer reassurance that help was on its way.

Superintendent Glyn Payne, head of the North Yorkshire Police control room, said: "This incident highlights the serious dangers that even the most experienced walkers can get into when the conditions are so extreme.

"The obvious advice is that people should not take such risks in their leisure time, especially when heavy snow and freezing conditions were forecast.

"On the other hand, it does prove the importance of being equipped for such conditions, because without the extra clothing, sleeping bags and rations taken by these men, the outcome could have been far more serious and even tragic."

Supt Payne praised the efforts of control room operators and the police officers involved, as well as the mountain rescue team.