A SLEDGING session nearly turned to tragedy when a woman crashed on freezing Chorley moorland.

Members of two mountain rescue teams joined paramedics and the police helicopter crew to help Deborah Garlick who had fallen heavily from her sledge on snowy slopes at Rivington.

Deborah, aged 24, of Warrington, suffered serious back injuries in the accident on Saturday afternoon.

Lancashire Police's air support unit was alerted and the force helicopter - piloted by captain Nick James, accompanied by observer PC Martin Wood - flew her to Royal Preston Hospital for treatment.

Sgt John Kirkwood from the Warton-based unit said: "We were requested because of her back injuries and because the terrain made it difficult to carry her to the nearest road. It would have caused her a lot of pain."

The mountain rescuers from both the Bolton and Bowland Pennine teams helped carry the woman by stretcher to a field.

The helicopter touched down close by, its blades swirling snow from the ground into the air.

Deborah was taken on board and whisked to hospital five minutes' flying time away.

Pete Taylor, of the Bowland Pennine, helped to co-ordinate the operation by radio from the team's headquarters in the Trough of Bowland.

He said: "It was quite a dangerous situation because we couldn't stop everybody sledging and slipping into the injured person.

"She had come down a slope and had hit it very sharp hump and was catapulted into the air and landed on her bottom really hard, on the base of the spine.

"She complained that when she moved her legs she was in severe pain."

Deborah was described as "comfortable" in hospital after undergoing an operation.

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