PATTERDALE Mountain Rescue Team received a report from Cumbria Police of a 'possible paraglider crash' after taking off from the summit of Place Fell. 

"The paraglider had been witnessed to possibly losing control a couple of times then plummeting to the ground," a spokesperson from the team said. The call was in the afternoon of July 28. 

The area the paraglider had come down was 'quite extensive' so the team requested a Coastguard Search and Rescue helicopter to help them from the air.

However, neither the 15 team members on foot nor the helicopter by air could locate the man. The members spoke to different witnesses and established that the paraglider could have been in the valley bottom, but this area had been searched so the incident was stood down.

"Whilst the paragliders were still at the base the paraglider who had by now heard what was going on called in to speak to us," the spokesperson said. 

He explained that he had been doing speed flying, which is 'a lot faster' than normal paragliding and can look out of control to bystanders. 

The incident took two hours.