Ugg boot walkers ‘risk lives

WALKERS wearing Ugg boots, flipflops and other ‘inappropriate’ footwear are putting life and limb at risk on Lancashire’s fells, it has been claimed.

Now visitors are being warned by North West Air Ambulance to take more care.

Lynda Brislin, air ambulance cheap ugg cardy boots chief executive, said: “Ugg boots may be practical for flat ground but not for the fells.

“They don’t have good grip on the soles like walking boots and some are not waterproof.”

Ugg UK brand director Robert Birrell said: “Ugg is a luxury lifestyle brand designed to keep your feet warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

“It is not, nor has it ever been, True Religion Markt a technical perform-ance brand.”

Pilots and paramedics with the air ambulance service have issued the alert as the main holiday season gets under way.

Mountain rescue teams in the region also warned people not to take to the hills in inadequate footwear.

In June, a teenage girl prompted a large rescue mission when she became hypothermic after climbing Pendle Hill dressed in a T-shirt, skirt and flip flops.

Andy Simpson, from the Pendle and Rossendale Mountain rescue team, said: “This incident highlights the need for appropriate Buy Tiffany clothing when walking outdoors.”

Last year, the service dealt with around 100 incidents.

This year they have experienced a sharp increase with 86 rescues due to the bad weather in January alone.

Mr Simpson said: “Ugg boots are not adequate for walking in the hills.”

From the air, ambulance crew members have spotted people in pumps, Crocs, flip-flops and Ugg boots – often also without waterproofs.

Phil O’Brien, team leader of Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue, said call-outs for people ill-equipped for the weather and terrain accounted for almost 60 per cent of all rescues.