Mountain rescuers have thanked three passers-by who stopped to help a woman with a suspected broken ankle in the Brecon Beacons.

The Central Beacons Mountain Rescue Team went to the aid of a walker who had slipped while she was walking on the Neuadd Ridge footpath on Thursday afternoon, March 17.

The by-standers had stopped and helped to shelter the brave woman while she waited for help to arrive in the popular beauty spot.

Central Beacons MRT said that it was thanks to What3Words and Phone Find technology, accompanied with good phone signal, which meant they were able to quickly locate the woman.

What3Words is a website and app which helps users to find an exact location using specific three metre square coordinates - each 3m square coordinate has a unique code made up of three words.

While the words are randomly assigned to each square, they will always remain the same.

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“Street addresses aren’t accurate enough to specify precise locations, such as building entrances, and don’t exist for parks and many rural areas. This makes it hard to find places and prevents people from describing exactly where help is needed in an emergency.”

The What3Words Website

After locating the woman, the group of volunteers used ropes and a stretcher to get the walker off the slope to the roadside so she could continue her journey to hospital.

In a post on their Facebook page, the Central Beacons MRT said: “Responding from the Neuadd Valley Road, we were soon with the lady and her husband. In the mist and strengthening wind our team doctor administered pain relief and applied immobilisation, after which we placed her on our stretcher to carry off the mountain.

“Using ropes to assist the stretcher movement down the steep slope, we evacuated the lady to the roadside for onward journey to hospital.

“We are very grateful to three passers by, one of which we know only as Liam, who interrupted their walk and helped the couple by loaning their storm shelter and providing reassurance until we arrived. Thank you.

“We hope the ankle injury isn’t serious and we wish the lady a full and speedy recovery.”

The team is made up entirely of volunteers who give their time to help others who are in trouble on the mountains as well in urban areas and flooding.

Central Beacons MRT is on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and it covers the central area of the Brecon Beacons - including Pen-y-Fan, the highest point at 886m and the valley of Ystradfellte waterfalls down to the valleys, Cardiff and Newport.

The team, which is based at Merthyr Tydfil, covers a whopping 1437 square km area in total and is one of four rescue teams which covers the Brecon Beacons National Park and South Wales - the others being Brecon MRT, Western Beacons MRT and Longtown MRT.

All of the teams rely on donations from the public or fundraising to keep going as they fund their equipment and fuel costs.

The Central Beacons team requires around £30,000 annually to cover its yearly running costs - on its JustGiving page, the rescue team says that a £65 donation could buy PPE, like a helmet, for a volunteer.

To donate to the Central Beacons MRT, visit its JustGiving page by clicking here or visit its EasyFundraising page by clicking here.