A young boy's walk with his mother took a turn for the worse when he fell down a hidden shaft and had to be rescued by firefighters.

Four-year-old Joseph had been on the walk with his mother, Sarah Steel, in the woodland behind the British Mohair Spinner's Grove Mills, at Ingrow.

He failed to notice the hole and fell down the 10ft shaft at about 1.45pm on Wednesday.

Mrs Steel said: "We were just walking along and you couldn't see the hole.

"It is more uncovered now but the brambles were over it yesterday. I was keeping a close eye on him and I don't know if he slipped or fell. I am worried about other children who play in the wood -- it's an easy hole to miss if you're not looking out for it and there's no sign of it.

"Joseph was lucky to have come out of it with just a few scratches, but it could have been so much worse."

Will Kerr, the firefighter who rescued him said: "He wasn't injured when I got down but was quite scared -- so I reassured him and he was a brave little chap.

"The hole was quite narrow so he climbed up first and I followed him up, making sure he was all right. He is a very lucky boy."