A 43-YEAR-old woman was airlifted to hospital after she went missing for five hours after falling from her horse on the North York Moors.

The woman, who has not been named, is in a critical condition with serious spinal injuries. She was taken by the Great North Air Ambulance to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough. It is understood family and friends launched a search for her when she failed to return after going for a ride this morning, July 29. She was found at Stearsby, near Ampleforth around 1.45pm.

Paramedics were called and the Yorkshire Ambulance Service contacted the Great North Air Ambulance for help. The woman was treated at the scene by doctors before the ten-minute transfer to hospital by helicopter. North Yorkshire police say they were not involved in the search operation.