The volunteers of the Northumberland National Park Mountain Rescue Team (NNPMRT) and North of Tyne Mountain Rescue Team (NOTMRT) have responded to a record 11 incidents during the month of August.
At 03:23 on Sunday 28 August, the Teams were contacted by Northumbria Police for an overdue female walker in her 70s. She had failed to meet up with her husband at as planned at 21:00. He raised the alarm in the early hours after trying to locate his wife himself. While a search plan was being developed, Police located the lady on a drivable track in woods near to the coastal path in the Belford area. The walker had fallen sustaining minor injuries and was also suffering from the lower overnight temperature. She was assessed by a Mountain Rescue medic before being transported to hospital. The incident lasted for 3.5 hours and involved 4 Mountain Rescue volunteers.
At 19:13 on Saturday 27 August, the Teams were contacted by Northumbria Police after two walkers had reported themselves lost in the Cheviot Hills. The Mountain Rescue SARLOC system was deployed – a text message was sent to the walkers which when clicked on utilised the Smart Phone inbuilt GPS and automatically returns a pin point location to Mountain Rescue. The walkers were on the South East side of Hedgehope hill. They were given guidance by phone and SARLOC was repeatedly used to ensure they were travelling in the right direction; the technology facilitated a rescue without any Mountain Rescue volunteers needing to head up the mountain. The walkers arrived back where they had started from in the Harthope Valley at 21:40, where they were met by Police officers. The incident lasted for 2.5 hours and involved 4 Mountain Rescue volunteers.
At 21:40 on Wednesday 24 August, the Teams were requested to assist Northumbria Police in the search for an overdue walker in the Haltwhistle area. The male in his mid-20s had left home in Haltwhistle in the afternoon, with the intention of walking over Plenmeller Common towards Eals in the South Tyne valley, before returning along the valley to home. A distance of some 25-30km. All team members were placed on standby while a search plan was developed, during which time the walker returned home safely, albeit a little later than planned. The incident lasted for 2 hours 10 minutes, and involved 3 Mountain Rescue Volunteers. A further 14 Mountain Rescue volunteers were ready to be deployed, and were stood down at midnight.
At 18:02 on Monday 22 August, the Teams were called following reports of a fallen climber at Peel Crag with chest injuries. Mountain Rescue assisted the Great North Air Ambulance, who initially treated the casualty, to carry the stretcher to the waiting helicopter. The incident lasted for 2 hours 20 minutes and involved 9 Mountain Rescue volunteers.
The other 7 callouts during August have been communicated to the press previously in a press release dated 21 August 2016.