A mountain rescue team has appealed for two rescued walkers to pay a hotel bill they owe, return head torches they took and collect a hospital crutch one of them used to climb Scafell Pike in treacherous conditions.

“We avoid judging those we rescue,” said Wasdale mountain rescue team in a statement. “But we struggle to understand when the rescued take advantage of hospitality provided by our supporters in the valley.”

The seven-hour rescue, it was revealed at the weekend, took place overnight on 29-30 December and was the team’s last rescue of 2025. The incident involved two young male walkers and was totally avoidable, the team said, with “treacherous winter conditions underfoot”.

The walkers were located high on Scafell Pike, England’s highest mountain, and were safely transported “wet and hungry” to the bottom of the valley in the early hours.

The team said the bar manager of the Wasdale Head Inn had offered to stay up late to provide the men with snacks and let them stay in a room with a 35% discount. More than three weeks later, the bill remained unpaid, the rescuers said.

“Sadly there has been no payment to the hotel of the £130 outstanding room cost or thank you to Steve [the bar manager],” said the mountain rescue team. “Neither did the telephone number given to Steve work. We as a volunteer organisation are also missing the two head torches lent to them to get them safely off the mountain.

“We also would like to return their hospital crutch left in our vehicle that one of them with a previous leg injury had used on the ascent.”

According to rescuers, the pair had agreed to pay but said “their money was in their tent somewhere high on the fell near Green Gable”.

They said that in the morning the walkers had asked the hotel for a further reduction, “pushed hard for a breakfast” and asked if transport could be arranged to get them out of the valley.

The team said in its Facebook post that it felt obliged to pay the hotel bill, even though the Wasdale Head was “more than willing to cover the loss”.

In an update Wasdale mountain rescue said the post had prompted donations that were more than what was required to pay the bill. “We are bowled over by the generosity of your support,” the team said. “Any additional funding raised will go directly towards the team’s operational costs which are in excess of £100,000 annually.”