It is a cash-strapped, volunteer-run emergency service whose members are forced to rattle buckets outside supermarkets to raise funds.

Yet Mountain Rescue England & Wales is being stretched to the limit by people setting off on ill-prepared climbing trips.

They also get calls ranging from "I'm tired and fed up" to "my pushchair is stuck" from one family who had taken their baby up a mountain.

Last year, another family with a five-year-old son and 14-month-old baby, had to be rescued from England's highest mountain, Scafell Pike, in the Lake District.

Rescuers searched for two hours in heavy rain and thick cloud before the family was found uninjured in Piers Gill, a notorious accident "black spot" in the Wasdale valley.

After 15 years as a volunteer with the Rossendale and Pendle team in Lancashire, Andy Simpson, 49, says he has "seen it all".

One couple who recently got lost in Cumbria wanted to be rescued by helicopter because they were hosting a dinner party and didn't want to be late.

Some of the worst offenders are those who get tired during their climb and cannot be bothered to go any further, and call on the rescue service.

"People call us when they are not in danger - but we are not a guiding service," Andy Simpson says.

He laughs as he recalls an elderly climber who had reached the summit of Snowdon - the highest mountain in Wales - wearing a pair of carpet slippers.

"He must have been about 60 and he was wearing a jumper that looked like his mum had knitted, a pair of trousers and his slippers," Andy says.

"I have seen a lot of climbers but I had never seen one that looked as happy as him. He had a big toothless smile and was having a great time.

"I guess he must have thought his slippers were the most comfortable thing he had. Luckily for him, he didn't come to any harm."

'No brainer'

However, Andy warns that such casual attire is not the most appropriate gear for hiking, as two students found when they had to be rescued recently.

"These two young lads decided to climb to the summit of Snowdon and they started off badly equipped, they weren't wearing boots and had no maps or compasses. There was no preparation whatsoever."

"They didn't find the footpath they were supposed to be taking and took a wrong turn about 30 minutes after setting off.

"Luckily, four climbers were on their way down and found these two three quarters of the way up. They were in trouble as it was very dark by now.

"The four climbers had torches but their battery ran out and fifteen members of our team had to be called out to rescue them. It was not until 2am they got back."

"It's a no brainer that you don't set off like that without being prepared," he says

Tourists also often find themselves getting into trouble.

Andy says: "One of my colleagues in the Teesdale area recently rescued a Chinese tourist who was trying to navigate the Yorkshire moors using an AA road map he had downloaded from his laptop!

"He was dressed in shirt and trousers and looked like was on his way to the office."

Beauty spot

However, it is not just hapless climbers who can find themselves in need of rescue.

"It's quite common that you rescue people who wouldn't consider themselves to ever be in need of mountain rescue."

Andy Simpson recalls going to rescue a family who were out walking their dog at a beauty spot in Bury, Lancs.

The dad fell nearly 90ft from after slipping from the tip of a cliff with his dog. Amazingly, he survived the fall after landing on the dog

"Doctors had to transfuse 35 pints of blood into him over the next few days but somehow he survived," Andy Simpson says.

"Unfortunately the dog died but you can just imagine what's going through his family's mind watching as he fell 90ft. All they were doing was walking the dog at a local beauty spot, just three miles from Bury town centre."

Despite the valuable service they provide Andy, whose day job is in advertising, says resources are so stretched that his colleagues have to resort to standing outside supermarkets with a bucket to raise cash.

He said: "It's not unusual for members of the team to be outside Asda rattling a bucket in the morning and then later out in the mountains rescuing people.

"It doesn't help when people call us needlessly."

There are 53 mountain rescue teams in England and Wales, staffed by 3000 volunteers who all have day jobs.

Andy Simpson believes they should be funded like rescuers in Scotland where he says the Scottish parliament gives up to £500,000.

However, he is not optimistic about a cash handout from the government.

He says: "If you ask Westminster, they will tell you to clear off politely."