ASHBURTON’S Dartmoor Search and Rescue Team assisted police in locating a camper early this morning (Saturday, March 13).

The team were contacted by police at just before 5am to assist in finding a cold and distressed male in his early 20’s who had been camping near Haytor Rocks.

Weather conditions on the moor were extremely hazardous with heavy rain, driving winds and very low temperatures and so a full team callout was triggered at 5.24am.

The police helicopter was also called on to assist with the search and despite struggling to maintain a search pattern in the challenging weather conditions the pilot and crew quickly located the camper.

Three of the search team members and a police officer were hastily dispatched to his location where on assessment the man was found to be mildly hypothermic but uninjured and was quickly walked to the road and a waiting ambulance.

In a statement of their social media pages the team said that although the camper was well-equipped for the conditions on the moor his inexperience in an environment that doesn’t take prisoners had unfortunately let him down.

The team stood down from the call-out, their ninth of the year, at 6:14am.