Incident Report #24 1974

Male (21), of Langdale, sustained exposure and shock while "air bed racing" on the flooded Langdale Beck at Chapel Stile. He clung to a rock island in the middle of the beck after being swept over a raging weir. The team rescued him from the river and he was treated by the team doctor for exposure.
Footnote: This man performs his air bed racing regularly. His equipment is a wet suit a helmet and a Li-Lo type air bed, and he floats down from the Dungeon Ghyll Hotel area. But this particular day, the river was a raging torrent after days of rain and gale force winds. This was a dangerous stunt which he was lucky to survive in the circumstances.