At 17:26 on Sunday 23 July, the Northumberland National Park Mountain Rescue Team (NNPMRT) and North of Tyne Mountain Rescue Team (NOTMRT) were requested to rescue a walker in distress from the Lamb Hill Mountain Refuge Hut by Northumbria Police. This is the same hut that the Teams responded to on 5 July; on the Border Ridge at a height of 442 m above sea level and some 3 km from the nearest road.
The female walker had sustained an upper leg injury late afternoon and was unable to weight bare. The casualty, her partner and their two dogs took refuge in the hut and called Police to request Mountain Rescue assistance. By this stage the weather conditions had deteriorated with heavy rain and low visibility.
NNPMRT and NOTMRT deployed immediately, while the Border Search and Rescue Unit was placed on stand-by.
Similar to the incident on 5 July, the shepherd from Blindburn Farm assisted with skilful 4×4 driving to transport a member of Mountain Rescue and the Community Paramedic from Rothbury to the hut. The casualty was assessed and given pain relief before being assisted into the 4×4 for a ride to the valley where she was handed over to a North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) crewed ambulance.
The casualty later wrote on the NNPMRT Facebook post regarding the incident, “I was the Walker that was injured yesterday and I just want to thank every single person involved in the rescue, Iain and the mountain rescue team, Steve the paramedic, the local farmer and the ambulance crew all did an amazing job and put me at ease during a horrible time. A groin injury on top of yesterday afternoons weather conditions was a grim combination and I know I couldn’t have gotten off that hill without the help of all of these amazing people, awesome job guys thank you so much.”
Northumberland National Park Mountain Rescue Team (NNPMRT) and North of Tyne Mountain Rescue Team (NOTMRT) provide a search and rescue service in the Northumbria Police area. The operational area covers 2,159 square miles and includes the whole of Northumberland and the conurbation of Tyne & Wear. Both MRTs operate jointly on a callout, as a single body.
Calls for assistance include not only search and mountain rescue of walkers, fell/trail runners and mountain bikers in the wild and remote parts of Northumberland but also the search and rescue of missing children and vulnerable adults in rural and urban settings.
All members are volunteers and have a shared interest in providing a vital life-saving service. Members continuously train in all the core skill areas (hill craft and navigation, search, communications, first aid and casualty care, technical rescue, etc.) and are equipped to enable them to operate effectively in all types of terrain and in all seasons.
Both MRTs are solely reliant on voluntary donations and grants from charitable trusts. The funds generated cover the costs of: training; maintenance, replacement or upgrading of equipment and vehicles; general running costs including fuel; and, insurances. Fundraising is as continuous as training.
Mountain rescue team members are on call, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Please contact one of the Team Leaders, contact details above, or one of the Press Officers for further information:
NNPMRT Press Officer, Email: pressofficer@nnpmrt.org
NOTMRT Press Officer, Email: press@notmrt.org.uk