Pub guests and medics on 999 call freed from snow

Over 20 people have finally been able to leave what is known as Britain's highest pub after having been trapped earlier due to snow.

Andrew Hields, landlord of the Tan Hill Inn, in the Yorkshire Dales, said a total of 21 people had been stuck at the pub at one point, including 15 overnight guests, five people from camper vans parked nearby and a passer-by who had sought shelter.

Meanwhile, an ambulance and a doctor responding to an emergency call were rescued by a gamekeeper and farmer after becoming stranded in the snow in Swaledale.

The incidents took place as Storm Chandra brought snow, flooding, travel disruption and school closures across the UK.

Hields said that "by Tan Hill standards" the snow which affected the pub on Tuesday morning was "not that heavy".

"It was other vehicles struggling on the hills in the area which blocked our guests in," he explained.

Hields said a snowplough which had been driven up to the pub in the morning had been unable to clear a way through the tricky conditions because of a stranded HGV "a few miles down the road".

He told the BBC later on Tuesday that "the road to Reeth has been cleared and guests, including a six-month-old baby, are leaving".

Over the years, the Tan Hill Inn has become notorious for "snow-ins" due to its isolated location in the Yorkshire Dales.

In November 2021, about 60 people got trapped by heavy snow at the pub - which is 1,732ft (528m) above sea level - after going to see an Oasis tribute band.

In January last year, a snow plough, snow blower and gritters had to be brought in to get through 6ft (2m) drifts so 23 pub-goers - including a four-year-old child - and six workers could get home after being stuck at the inn for five days.

In the incident in Swaledale, a gamekeeper discovered both the stranded ambulance and a doctor who had become stuck in blizzard conditions in a car on Tuesday morning while they tried to attend a 999 call.

The gamekeeper was reported to have contacted a farmer in nearby Askrigg, with a video shared on social media showing a tractor being used to pull both vehicles out of the snow.

Darren Chadwick, coordinator of the Yorkshire Dales Moorland Group, said: "With the medical teams isolated high on this precarious moorland road time was critical and so the keeper and farmer response was potentially life-saving for so many reasons.

"This is what Dales life can look like in dire situations. Local knowledge, experience and skills all combining to safeguard rural communities."

"Well done everyone involved," Chadwick added.

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