Last updated 12:57, Sunday, 23 March 2008

Three men had to be rescued from Scafell Pike in Cumbria early on Sunday after they were trapped by snow drifts.

Twelve members of the Wasdale Mountain Rescue team were called out at 4am after being alerted to the men's plight as they took part in the Three Peaks Challenge. The men were uninjured.

Meanwhile, a Cumbrian ambulance vehicle became trapped in the Sedbergh area and had to be freed with the help of a mountain rescue team.

The weather prompted North West Ambulance Service leaders to appeal to the public only to make 999 calls as a last resort.

“The weather forecast is for the snow to abate and the roads to improve as the morning goes on,” said Derek Cartwright, area director for NWAS in Cumbria & Lancashire.

“Until then we would ask the public to only call an ambulance if it is absolutely necessary.”

The A66 between Penrith and Scotch Corner was reopened at around 10am this morning (Sunday). Police said about 15 lorries were stuck overnight following heavy snowfalls.