A mountaineer from Bingley today praised the family he credits with saving his life.

Bill Greaves, 56, from Sycamore Avenue, fell and seriously injured himself while climbing alone on a popular Lake District peak.

Hiker Linda Sullivan, 36, and her sons Martin and Ian Smith, rushed to help the garage worker - who broke both bones in his lower left leg - after hearing his desperate calls on Loughrigg peak.

Mr Greaves had been blowing a whistle from his survival kit for 15 minutes before he was discovered at the bottom of a cliff.

Ms Sullivan, from Dunston, near Linclon, called 999 on her mobile phone and relayed the grid reference to the Mountain Rescue Service.

Meanwhile 12-year-old Martin stood at the cliff's edge to help direct them to the spot.

Mr Greaves said: "They saved my life. I couldn't move and was close to passing out.

"The base was about three miles away and I was off the beaten track in the middle of nowhere. It was very traumatic."

Ms Sullivan, a tourism manager, recalled: "We knew his condition was very serious. He was in a lot of pain and looked very pale."

The emergency teams arrived within 20 minutes and Mr Greaves was rushed to Lancaster Royal Infirmary.

Ms Sullivan said he was rescued within minutes of a hailstorm and biting cold descending on the mountain.

"People would have left the mountain because of it and there would have been no one there to save him," she added.

Mr Greaves had been climbing on his own during a day-trip to the tourist spot when he fell on his way down the peak.

He was detained in hospital for a fortnight and returned to his Bingley home yesterday.

He said: "I don't want my rescuers' efforts to go unrecognised. My whole family is extremely grateful to them and I want to say thank you."

Ms Sullivan explained that she had only been on the peak because her car had broken down before reaching its original destination, Scafell Pike.

While the vehicle was being repaired in a nearby garage, the trio decided to climb Loughrigg peak when they heard Mr Greaves' cries.

She said the two families now intended to meet again over Christmas.