A baby of 14 months became the youngest person to be rescued from England’s highest mountain after his family embarked on an “insane” climbing expedition.

Rescuers were called out when David and Sally Naylor, who had decided to climb Scafell Pike in the Lake District with their baby son and his five-year-old brother, got into difficulty.

They set out at noon on Monday, reaching the 3,210ft (978m) summit four hours later.

During the descent the Naylors lost their way and, as darkness fell, they found themselves stranded in low cloud in an area close to a 200ft ravine.

The alarm was raised at 7.30pm by a fellow climber who noticed that the family, from the village of Lynstone, near Bude, Cornwall, had failed to return to their car.

A team of 42 mountain rescuers and two search dogs were immediately scrambled and the Naylors — cold and wet but uninjured — were located just before midnight near the treacherous Piers Gill path.

The five-year-old boy was exhausted and had to be carried off the mountain on a stretcher.

His baby brother was the member of the family least affected by their ordeal. He was strapped into a waterproof papoose on his father’s back and had slept throughout most of the evening.

Experienced climbers in the region delivered a scathing verdict yesterday on the parents’ decision to attempt the climb.

George Wilson, 58, said: “It’s insane to take small children up Scafell. It was incredibly irresponsible and put other people’s lives at risk.

“Scafell is not to be taken lightly by anyone at this time of year, even the most experienced climber, but to take two little kids, including a baby, up there is sheer madness.”

Members of three mountain rescue teams — from Wasdale, Keswick and Duddon and Furness — took part in the search-and-rescue operation.

The Naylors were led off the mountain and finally reached safety at 4am yesterday. They were taken straight to a nearby hotel, where a room had been prepared for them.

When they left the hotel yesterday to travel to the Ambleside cottage where they are spending a one-week holiday, Mr Naylor said they were still shaken but “very grateful for everything the rescue teams did to help us”.

Julian Carradice, the leader of the Wasdale team, warned other families against following the Naylors’ example. “If people are going to take children up mountains like that they have to take responsibility for getting them down safely,” he said.

“This family set off at around midday and didn’t leave themselves much time to get to the top and back before darkness fell.

“It’s the highest mountain in England and they managed to get to the peak at about 4pm, which is pretty good for a five-year-old, but the conditions were poor and they hadn’t left enough time to get back down before darkness fell.”

Mr Carradice said that Piers Gill, where the family was found, “is not a place you would want to be in that situation”. He added: “It’s a very large ravine on Scafell with a lot of rocks, waterfalls and sheer 200ft sides.

“The couple found themselves lost in there in poor visibility with two very young children in the dark. It must have been very frightening.

“When we reached them they were cold and frightened.” He said that the baby, “the youngest person we have rescued”, was wrapped in seven layers of clothing inside the papoose, which had a hood over the top.

“His brother was causing a little more concern. He was on foot and little ones of that age don’t have tremendous reserves of energy. He had been on the mountain over 12 hours and was cold and exhausted.

“The best way to deal with him was to wrap him up warm, strap him to a stretcher and carry him off.”

Mr Carradice said that Mr and Mrs Naylor had been “embarrassed but very grateful” to be rescued.

Richard Longman, the Wasdale team’s treasurer, said that it was impossible to estimate how much Monday’s night’s rescue operation had cost.

Easy to lose way on England’s highest peak

— At 978m (3,210ft), Scafell Pike is the highest mountain in England

— It is located in the Lake District National Park in Cumbria

— The name Pikes of Sca Fell was originally applied collectively to the peaks now known as Scafell Pike, Ill Crag and Broad Crag

— Described as a “complex mountain” with several routes, it can be easy to lose the path, particularly when descending

— Conditions of poor visibility are quite common St Bees

— The multitude of cairns on the mountain can also be misleading; it is essential to use a map and compass

— There are rocky areas and some high verticle drops

— In winter, climbers should take care of “verglass”, a thin veneer of ice which coats the rocks

— The contraction Scafell Pike originated as an error on an Ordnance Survey map, but is now standard

— The land was donated to the National Trust in 1920 by Lord Leconfield

— It is one of three British mountains climbed as part of the (National) Three Peaks Challenge

— It consists of igneous rock from the Ordovician period

Source: British Mountain Guides

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