Two women rescued from blizzard charged over Covid lockdown breaches

24 January 2021, 16:47 | Updated: 24 January 2021, 16:57

Two women in their 20s have been charged “in connection with culpable and reckless conduct” after they were rescued from a Scottish mountain during a blizzard.

On Saturday afternoon, police and mountain rescue teams were called out to Ben Lomond, a 974 metre mountain in the Scottish Highlands.

The walkers were stuck near the summit called the mountain rescue to request “assistance to descend the hill” as the weather deteriorated.

A large scale operation was launched, including the use of a helicopter, according to the Daily Record.

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“The women were assisted and walked off the hill and both uninjured,” according to a police spokesperson.

“They have been charged in connection with culpable and reckless conduct."

In Scotland, exercise is only permitted if it starts and finishes in the same place, which must within five miles from the boundary of your local authority area.

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The women are understood to be from Fife, around 70 miles from where they were rescued in the Highlands.

Scottish Mountain Rescue have warned people to take care to “be extra safe” and “don’t push your limits or the conditions” as rescues may take longer than normal.

Earlier this month Scottish Police Chief Constable Iain Livingstone urged people to stay at home, adding: "Be assured, be very clear, where officers encounter wilful and blatant offences we will continue to act decisively to enforce the law, as the public would expect."