Text message saves Briton lost in bush

A British backpacker lost in mountainous bushland in Australia was rescued after she and her companion sent an SOS text message from a mobile phone.

Simone Stern, 29, from London, was stranded for 20 hours in the Blue Mountains, 60 miles west of Sydney, with an Australian friend, Stefano Massiello, 33.

The pair had gone for a short walk in the Wentworth Falls area of the Blue Mountains on Monday. They were wearing light clothes and had no food and only a small bottle of water.

As night fell and temperatures approached freezing, they became disorientated and, with the battery on Mr Massellio's phone too low to make a call, he sent a text message to his sister, Angelina, in Sydney saying: "Call police, we are lost." The pair spent the night on a ledge as rescuers began a search.The next morning, the pair sent more text messages giving details of their location. They were rescued by helicopter.

Ms Stern said the phone had been a lifesaver. "We felt like a greater force was helping us out," she said.