A woman wearing shorts and trainers in blizzard conditions and carrying only a selfie stick has been rescued from Ben Nevis - Britain's highest mountain.

Sara Albone (28) said she had decided to climb the mountain on the spur of the moment while she was taking part in a mountain biking tour through Scotland.

But the cross-country runner had only taken the light clothing for her bike trip - not the ice pick, poles and emergency shelter advised by experts for a trip up the snow-capped mountain.

She subsequently began to develop hypothermia after becoming disorientated.

She was found purely by chance while lost on the North Face of the 4,411ft peak, which has claimed the lives of several climbers in recent months.

The drenched and frozen woman was spotted by two male climbers who helped to warm her up and shared some of their dry clothes with her.

Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team leader John Stevenson said it was "ridiculous" to try to climb the mountain, where the summit remains in "full-blown winter", without the right equipment or support.

"Being irresponsible means others have to go out of their way to help," he said.

Ms Albone, from Brighton, apologised and thanked her rescuers who had walked her off the mountain because weather conditions were so bad she could not be reached by helicopter.

Writing on a mountaineering forum, Ms Albone said they had been "incredibly brave and kind", adding: "I think if it had not been for these guys I could have died".

She wrote: "[I had] Just the stuff I had packed for the weekend and a stupid selfie stick. I kind of knew I was under-prepared, and didn't actually intend on getting to the top. I just sort of thought, oh I've got this far - it's not too bad - let's carry on".

Ms Albone said she planned to take a mountaineering course once she returned home.