THREE 4x4 vehicles were stuck in the mud on the fells above Clitheroe after off-roading drivers were forced to spend the night in freezing conditions.

Mountain rescuers were called after the vehicles got stuck on the Easington Fell until the early hours of the morning.

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Seven people – including two children aged two and four – had to be rescued by the Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue Team after attempts to get themselves out failed.

And mountain rescuers have since warned other drivers to ensure they know what they are doing when embarking on such adventures and to have a plan in place for if they do become stuck.

Paul Durham, of the team, said: “The people had decided to do a bit of greenlaning in their 4x4s and this was the mid-afternoon.

“They had managed to get the vehicle bogged down and stuck.

“At that time they called a friend to come up with his four-wheel drive and help pull them out, but they got stuck as well.

“They then put a number of calls out to people involved in off-roading asking for help.

“By this time it had gone dark and when it got to about 2am they called the police, who called us.”

The team used its specialist mapping software to locate the stranded off-roaders and four rescuers set out to meet them.

Mr Durham said: “They were 1km to 1.5km way from where they thought they were.

“The seven people were taken home to various properties.

“As far as we are aware, the vehicles are still in situ as it has not stopped raining since.”

Mr Durham added: “People get four-wheel drive vehicles and think they can do anything but driving these things off-road is an acquired skill.

“Always the big question should be ‘if I get stuck, what am I going to do to get it out’, and clearly that was not thought about before this trip was started.”