Teenage campers rescued from Mourne Mountains

A group of campers were rescued from the Mourne Mountains today after their camp was washed out by torrential rain.

The three teenagers called the Mourne Rescue Team for help after finding their route down from the mountains blocked by a swollen river in the early hours of the morning.

Ed Kilgore, chairman of the Mourne rescue service, said: “A group had been out camping and were woken by the rain at around 5am and found their camp washed out.

“When they tried to make their way back down the way they had gone up, they found their way blocked by a river that was so badly swollen they could not get across.

“In the darkness and bad weather they rang for assistance.”

The Met Office had issued a severe weather warning for the North with a predicted 30 to 50mm of rain overnight.

Police warned of flooding on roads in a number of places today, including on the main A1 Belfast-Dublin Road at Banbridge, Co Down.