EMERGENCY services were out in force near Ledbury on Friday night when a vulnerable woman went missing from a local care home.

The woman in her 20s, who attends day sessions at Salter’s Hill, on Falcon Lane, between Ledbury and Little Marcle, went missing at about 4pm.

Searchers managed to contact the girl by mobile phone, and she was able to tell them she had fallen into a ditch somewhere in the countryside which surrounds the home, but she could not tell them exactly where she was.

Two helicopters with thermal imaging cameras were sent aloft to scan the fields, while police officers searched on foot and fire crews were also sent out to assist in the operation.

Concern for her welfare increased when heavy rain started to fall later in the evening, as she still had not been located. However, she was found at about 8.30pm.

A spokesman for the charity said: “On Friday evening, one of our creative learning students took themselves off and got lost in open ground. The emergency services were contacted and later on she was found safe and well.”

Salter’s Hill Charity was established in 1984 and has been providing accommodation, care and support for adults with learning disabilities in Herefordshire and Gloucestershire since then.