An appeal to trace a mystery “hero” has been made after walkers were rescued from a national park surrounding England’s highest peak.

A four-strong group were lost in the Lake District last week after climbing Scafell Pike when a mystery man from Royston saved the day.

The party consisted of Hannah Vick, 27, and her 32-year-old partner Nigel Maeer, who both live in Devon, along with Miss Vick’s two brothers – Alex, 25, who lives in London, and 21-year-old Brighton-based student Harry.

After climbing the peak on April 1 with minimum fuss, the group realised they were ill-prepared for the descent. They took the wrong route down the mountain to get back to their car and ended up in a valley by Wastwater Lake, about four or five hours walking distance from where the group had parked, with light disappearing at 5pm.

With no phone signal to call for help, the group realised they were in trouble.

Miss Vick said: “This was the point where our hero comes in. This extremely kind gentleman asked us if he could help, and pointed out walking back to our car was not an option.

“He drove us for one and a half hours back to our car. This was completely the wrong direction for him but he didn’t want any fuel money and was more than happy to help us.

“He was on his way home to Royston so after his climb up Scafell Pike, the last thing you can imagine he wanted to do was drive four strangers back to their car.

“During the car journey we gathered that his name was Adam, that he lives in Royston, and that he was in training for the Three Peaks Challenge, which he hopes to do in June with his brother.

“On the long drive back to our vehicle we were offering him sweets and gingerbread we had bought freshly made from Grasmere to say thank you, and we were all shocked that he had never tried a humbug before!

“He was just such a genuinely nice guy. We said that it was his good deed for the next couple of years and that he was going to a good place, although a few bits of gingerbread and a mint humbug seems a pathetic gesture in return.

“Never in our lives have we met someone so insanely kind. He didn’t know anything about us but I cannot stress enough how kind he was. We want to find him so that we can pass on the biggest thanks in the world.”

If you know who Adam from Royston is and can put the group in touch with him, email news@royston-crow.co.uk