A LONE woman walker was rescued soaked and frightened overnight by the Ashburton-based Dartmoor rescue group after being wrongly dressed for the rugged terrain.

They say she would have learned a valuable lesson after volunteers found her ‘scared, wet through and mildly hypothermic’ near the Avon Dam at 5.20am.

It emerged that the woman, in her 20s and from the Welwyn Garden City area of Hertfordshire, had no compass and maps – and she was dressed in ‘totally inadequate’ jeans and fashion shoes.

The woman, who had been ‘geocaching’ during the day, raised the alarm with police at midnight complaining she was lost and wet and cold.

A spokesman for the Dartmoor group said afterwards: ‘We are quite confident that the young lady has learnt a valuable lesson from her ordeal.

‘She had no map or compass, no spare clothing, was dressed in jeans and fashion shoes which were totally inadequate for both the terrain and weather conditions and certainly contributed to her situation and mild hypothermia.

‘When walking on Dartmoor, you need to be properly protected against the weather conditions - not rely on electronic devices to find your way and have some spare clothing should things go wrong.’

He added: ‘She was very lucky we found her when we did as her condition was deteriorating in the poor weather.’

She was discovered at the area known as ‘Heap of Sinners.’