A YOUNG woman has been injured after falling 40ft from a bridge and landing on rubble alongside a river.

The woman, aged 20, was treated by paramedics after Bolton Mountain Rescue Team was called to take her up the steep bank of the River Irwell in Stoneclough to a waiting ambulance.

The rescue team had made their way down a narrow path to the river in the dark and clambered down the bank where they found the woman, who was with two male friends. They used a rope-haul system to pull the stretcher up the muddy slope to the waiting ambulance. The team also helped her two companions up the bank.

She was taken to the Royal Bolton Hospital suffering from suspected spinal injuries following the incident at 4.45pm on Sunday.

Team leader Garry Rhodes said: “The woman was in considerable pain and very cold due to the wet and muddy ground she had fallen on to. She was being comforted by her male friends.

“An initial difficulty, which was then present throughout the incident, was the fact that the casualty and her two friends were foreign nationals and there was considerable language difficulties involved in explaining our actions.”

Mr Rhodes added: “Local youths were very helpful, giving us directions to the site.

“This incident took place in darkness and in a very difficult-to-reach location, showing how our skills and resources can be used to excellent advantage, alongside the North West Ambulance Service staff and resources.”

The rescue team were also called to the River Croal on Friday at 3.30pm, near to Moses Gate Country Park in Farnworth, after a horse rider fell.

The woman rider, aged 26, was taken to the Royal Bolton Hospital with a serious shoulder injury.