A DOZEN volunteers from Rossendale and Pendle Mountain Rescue were led on a wild goose chase as their search for an injured man on Pendle Hill turned out to be a false alarm.
The team were called out to help the Air Ambulance, which was struggling with cloud to find the mystery man.
He was spotted sitting by a group of walkers who feared the elderly man had a broken leg and was blowing a horn as a distress signal.
But after searching for several hours on Sunday the rescuers discovered the man had in fact been drag hunting, The man was using the horn as part of the local event.
Andy Simpson, from the mountain rescue team, classed the incident as "a false alarm with good attempt".
He added: "It engendered an awful lot of activity on the hill. But we would rather the team is called out than stood down and possibly someone is injured and their life in danger. It was useful for training."
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