A missing climber who fell 60ft down a mountain while hunting a famous hidden cave was rescued by people using a locator phone app.

On Tuesday morning the young man visited the Lake District to search of the famous hillside cave the, Priest's Hole, which featured last year in BBC's Secret Britain.

But after failing to find it and Dove Crag descending in a thick cloud of fog, he lost his footing, plunged 60ft and suffered a serious head injury.

He was able to dial 999 but when Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team (MRT) spoke to him they were unable to work out exactly where he was.

Today Patterdale MRT leader Mike Blakey said they were alerted at 9am on Monday after a man fell 60ft looking for the Priest's Hole

So instead the clever rescuers used Apple App 'Find My Friends', which uses GPS to pinpoint the location of a mobile.

Today Lake District rescuers praised the usefulness of the App and described the unprepared climber as a 'very lucky boy'.

Patterdale MRT leader Mike Blakey said they were alerted at 9am on Monday after the man fell 60ft looking for the Priest's Hole.

Mr Blakey said they were given a location for him by Cumbria Police but it was wrong - and they were struggling to find him.

He said: 'He had no idea where he was. He had spent the night on the mountain having failed to locate the Priest Hole cave where he had planned to stay on Sunday evening.

'He had set off in the forecast heavy rain and cloud. Having spent the night in thick cloud he began to descend the wrong way in the morning and the fell into the top of a steep gully well above the cave..'

Luckily he had a mobile data signal and Mr Blakey could see his location on the Apple App, which uses AirDrop and Wi-Fi to send satellite images.

Mr Blakey alerted his colleagues to the man's correct grid reference while reassuring the injured climber that help was on the way.

The climber then started posting his unfolding rescue on Facebook - prompting his battery to go dead and meaning the team lost contact with him.

Mr Blakey added: 'This was unhelpful and a distraction for all concerned during what was a complex rescue.'

Clever rescuers used Apple App 'Find My Friends', which uses GPS to pinpoint the location of a mobile

Once he was finally found the Coastguard Rescue Helicopter winched the casualty to safety and transferred him to hospital. He was released later that day having only suffered bruising.

Deputy Patterdale MRT leader Mike Rippon said: 'The man tumbled down the gully for 60ft, stopping short of falling on and over the front of the crags. He was one heck of a lucky lad.'

Mountain rescuers have often been forced to save ill-prepared climbers desperate to find the now famous Priest's Hole cave.

In March last year it featured in BBC show 'Secret Britain as presenter and Strictly Come Dancing star Chris Hollins made the ascent to the hidden cave.

Since then mountain rescuers been besieged with a rising tide of hapless tourists getting lost or injured trying to reach it.

Last October, climber Kevin Ryan, 50, fell 500ft to his death from near the cave, while with a group planning to spend the night there.

Luckily the man had a mobile data signal and rescuers could see his location on the Apple App, which uses AirDrop and Wi-Fi to send satellite images

A team spokesperson reminded climbers at the time: 'While the Priest's Hole is marked on the map, the access route is not and it's very difficult to find.

'The Priest's Hole is surrounded by dangerous ground and should only be tackled by competent people.'

Earlier in June, Patterdale MRT was also called out to the Priest's Hole after a couple suffered hypothermia while looking for it.

Mr Blakey said growing numbers of unprepared tourists were trying to reach the cave ever since the BBC documentary aired.

He said: 'The Priest's Hole has seen an increase in visitor numbers since the BBC covered its location in a documentary.

'As a team we are seeing more and more people who are attempting to locate the Priest's Hole in the dark and without the right equipment.'

The BBC have previously declined to comment on their show about the Priest's Hole, but sources said the show made it very clear how dangerous the climb was.