Busy MREW Awareness Day

The team took part in the national Mountain and Cave Rescue Awareness day over the bank holiday weekend when they spent the Sunday fundraising in Dovedale and the evening rescuing a woman in the same area.

During the day, the team’s vehicles and equipment were on display to the public and team members were on hand to talk to people about the work of mountain rescue. The day raised £420 in donations to the team, excluding a large single donation of £220 given by the Whitmore family from Horton, near Stoke-on-Trent. The family had travelled down to meet the team and hand over the donation, which had been raised by means of donations in lieu of flowers at the recent funeral of John Whitmore, a keen outdoor enthusiast.

Dovedale is a popular beauty spot with locals and tourists and the scene of many callouts for the team. Team members had been surprised that by the time they packed up and left for home, there had been no incidents during the day, as the team inevitably have to deal with an incident in the area whenever fundraising takes place. However, later that evening, just a few hours after the team had left, they were called by the ambulance service back to Dovedale to rescue a walker from Hilton, who had slipped whilst descending Thorpe Cloud with her family and friends, injuring her ankle.

The woman was about half way down the hill when the accident happened. An EMAS ambulance crew were first on scene and provided initial treatment. Fifteen members of the rescue team then arrived to carry out the evacuation down the steep path and across the river to the waiting ambulance. A specialised mountain rescue stretcher and a backup rope system were used to negotiate the difficult terrain. The woman was then taken to Royal Derby Hospital for further treatment.