TOURISTS had to be rescued from Britain’s highest mountain after they tried to navigate by mobile phone light.
The five walkers were caught in the dark on 4,409ft Ben Nevis after taking too long to descend the peak.
Despite the dark and potentially deadly terrain, the tourists used “torchlight” apps on their mobiles to try to see.
They eventually decided the situation was hopeless and used their phones in a more traditional way – to call for help.
The incident happened on Monday night as the group – two men aged 25 and 57 and three women, aged 22, 23 and 27 – returned.
The alarm was raised at about 10.45pm and members of Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team brought them safely to the bottom of the peak by about 1.30am.
LMRT leader John Stevenson said that the tourists had not taken torches.
He said: “They reported themselves in difficulty because of the darkness and the lack of equipment.
“It was safer for them to call for help. If they had fallen and injured themselves, we would have had to have a full team callout. They were only 20 minutes up the main path. They had taken a long time to come down.”
He added: “People should carry a torch at all times just in case this happens.”
Last year, a tourist who had never seen snow before, had to be rescued after he broke his ankle wearing flip flops to scale the Nevis range.
And Willie Anderson, leader of Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team, has said previously that people are putting their lives at risk by being ill-equipped and unable to navigate properly.
LMRT have reported that due to the amount of serious incidents in 2015, they are on course for a record number of call outs.
They have cited poor weather conditions and walkers relying on mobile phones as navigation aids.
