DMRT news

Mon 18 May 2009 :: South Yorkshire Search

webmaster@derbymrt.org.uk (Derby Mountain Rescue Team)

The team were called out to search for a missing person in Skellow near Doncaster over the weekend. The 61 year old man was reported missing from a care home on Saturday evening and the team were called out at 11:00pm later that night.

Seventeen members of the Derby team, accompanied by 15 members from the Woodhead Mountain Rescue Team and 2 search and rescue dogs searched throughout the night for the vulnerable man. They were supported by South Yorkshire Police, a police helicopter and South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue service, who used their thermal imaging equipment to search the waterways in the area.

The man was not located during the search and the team were stood down at 8:00 am on Sunday morning. Police are continuing their investigations into the disappearance and have launched an appeal for information as to his whereabouts.

Being in Yorkshire, this is the fifth county that the team have been called to so far this year, with rescues having previously taken place in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Staffordshire.

Mon 01 Jun 2009 :: Dovedale Callout

webmaster@derbymrt.org.uk (Derby Mountain Rescue Team)

The team were called out to Dovedale on Sunday evening (May 31st) to assist in the rescue of a 14 year old girl, who had fallen whilst descending a steep scree slope on Thorpe Cloud, sustaining injuries to her head, back and arm. Over 20 members of the team were called out by pager at about 7:00pm to the beauty spot near Ashbourne. An ambulance crew and a Midlands Air Ambulance team were already on scene treating the casualty, but her location half way up the dangerous slope necessitated the use of mountain rescue personnel and equipment to evacuate her. Ropes and a specialized stretcher were used to lower the casualty to the ground and she was then carried along the banks of the river to the waiting helicopter where she was then taken to hospital for further treatment.

Whilst this incident was taking place, a member of the public alerted the team to a missing group of walkers. Two boys, aged 14 and 15 years old had separated from the rest of their group. The 40 year old father of one of the boys had also taken a different route and neither party had returned when expected. Once the mountain rescue members had evacuated the injured woman, they began to mobilise to search for the missing people. As the team were beginning to deploy, all 3 turned up safe and well.

Mon 08 Jun 2009 :: Dovedale Revisited

webmaster@derbymrt.org.uk (Derby Mountain Rescue Team)

On Saturday (June 6th), team were called to Dovedale, near Ashbourne, to rescue a 14 year girl who had slipped whilst descending a steep muddy path above Ilam Rock, causing an injury to her knee in the process. Nineteen members of the team responded to the call-out. She was treated on scene by a team paramedic and carried on a stretcher by team members for several kilometers to an ambulance waiting in the nearby village of Milldale. She was then transported to Stoke hospital for further treatment.

This is the third time in 5 weeks that the team has been called to Dovedale to rescue a person slipping whilst descending steep ground. Last week the team were called out to another 14 year girl who had slipped whilst coming down Thorpe Cloud injuring her head and at the beginning of May, a woman fell whilst descending a different path above Lover’s Leap, causing injuries to her arm.

Sun 28 Jun 2009 :: Parachute Accident

webmaster@derbymrt.org.uk (Derby Mountain Rescue Team)

A member of the Royal Artillery’s “Black Nights” Parachute Display Team was injured on Saturday (27th June) during a display jump at the Duffield Carnival. The 24 year old male landed very heavily and sustained a suspected fracture to his lower leg and ankle.

Derby Mountain Rescue Team had been at the Carnival with one of their team vehicles and just prior to the accident had been demonstrating the use of their vacuum mattress and vacuum splints, as used to treat such injuries. Team members rushed to the injured man and administered first aid. A local GP and nurse, who had been part of the crowd watching the display, were also on hand as were the Civil Aid voluntary service who had been providing first aid cover for the event.

Rescue Team members put their demonstrations into practice and splinted the injured leg and then, due to the possibility of a spinal injury, placed the man into their vacuum mattress. This is a specialised piece of equipment designed to protect a casualty’s entire body and is normally carried by mountain rescue teams rather than the more common spinal boards as casualties that mountain rescue encounter may well be encased for prolonged periods and the mattress is far more comfortable for the injured person and far more suitable for difficult terrain.

The man was then transported to Derby City Hospital by East Midlands Ambulance service, where he was diagnosed as having a fracture of the fibula.

A team spokesman said: “It was lucky that our members and equipment were close to hand and that so many other resources were available on scene. We wish the man a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him jump in a future display – but without the dramatic ending”.

Wed 22 Jul 2009 :: Hilltop Rescue

webmaster@derbymrt.org.uk (Derby Mountain Rescue Team)

The team were called out on Tuesday evening (21st July 2009) to Bunster Hill at Dovedale to rescue a woman who had injured her ankle whilst out walking with her husband and two young children.The woman had twisted her ankle earlier in the day but had been able to carry on. Later, as the weather deteriorated, the family decided to make their way down the high ridge of Bunster Hill back to their car when the woman went over on her ankle causing a painful sprain or possible fracture.

The team arrived on scene first and climbed the hill to administer first aid whilst a Midlands Air Ambulance tried to make their way to the location. The weather was worsening and the air ambulance was unable to land in the immediate vicinity and was forced to land much further along the ridge in a lower position.

The woman was carried by stretcher along the side of the slippery steep ridge to the waiting helicopter but due to the worsening conditions the helicopter was now unable to take off.The team used their Land Rover to drive across fields to get as close to the scene as possible and the woman was then carried from the helicopter to the vehicle and transported back down to the road, where she was transferred to hospital by road ambulance.

The air ambulance crew had made arrangements to leave the aircraft on the hill overnight but a sudden break in the weather allowed them to lift off and return to base.

Fri 31 Jul 2009 :: Deja View!

webmaster@derbymrt.org.uk (Derby Mountain Rescue Team)

On Thursday evening (30th July), the team were called out to a Dovedale beauty spot for the second time in just over a week, to rescue a 12 year old girl who had slipped and injured her lower leg. The girl had been out for a walk, accompanied by her younger brother and sister and their guardian, when the incident happened as they crossed the steep slippery ground along the top of Bunster Hill.

Nineteen members of the team and two First Responders from West Midlands Ambulance Service attended the scene, splinting the injured leg and carrying her across the ridge of the hill by stretcher to a waiting team Land Rover. She was then transported to a WMAS road ambulance to be transferred to hospital. Other team member’s 4x4 vehicles also accompanied the team vehicle to help transport equipment and the rest of the family back down to where their car was parked..

Just over a week ago,the team attended a similar incident just yards from the same spot. On that occasion, a woman had slipped and injured her ankle. An air ambulance had tried to evacuate her but had been stranded by the deteriorating weather and visibility, leaving the team to evacuate the casualty by stretcher and Land Rover.

Mon 03 Aug 2009 :: WInch Mob

webmaster@derbymrt.org.uk (Derby Mountain Rescue Team)

At the weekend, the team had an unusual training day when they were joined by a Sea King search and rescue helicopter from RAF Rescue for joint training at Harborough Rocks, near Carsington Water.

Mountain Rescue teams often work very closely with helicopters during their activities. Air Ambulances are frequently used to take casualties to hospital from the remote locations where they might be found and Police helicopters are often used during searches fro missing people. The RAF Rescue helicopters, in addition to both of these tasks, can also be used to deploy rescue personnel to difficult to reach locations far quicker than teams could get there on foot and also have the ability to winch casualties and team members in and out of the aircraft when there is no suitable landing area. It was this aspect of operations that the joint training exercise concentrated on.

After briefings from the air crew a tour of the aircraft, small groups of team members were dispatched to various locations in the surrounding area to practice being winched into the helicopter, together with their equipment and transported to the exercise’s “deployment” area.

A team spokesman said: “This is one of the more difficult training exercises to arrange , but is invaluable in saving time when the team are deployed in this way in a real incident. It also happens to be an enjoyable day for the members, who after several recent incidents where heavy equipment has had to be carried up very steep hills, would be only too happy to have RAF Rescue available at most call outs”.

As so often happens during such events, the helicopter was called away to an incident and the exercise was ended prematurely.

Wed 12 Aug 2009 :: Incident at Black Rocks

webmaster@derbymrt.org.uk (Derby Mountain Rescue Team)

The team were called out at 15:15 on Monday (11th August) to an incident at Black Rocks, near Cromford. A 40 year old climbing instructor had suffered a fatal collapse whilst setting up for a lesson on top of a rocky pinnacle in the popular tourist spot.

The team were requested by police to recover the man from the top of the crag. Due to the inaccessible location, a specialised rescue stretcher and rope system was used to lower the man to the ground from the peak.

The instructor was about to give a climbing lesson to a group of children and had been rigging up ropes at the top of the rock for the session when the incident occurred. The cause of death is not yet known but it is believed that the cause was medical and that no accident took place.

The team would like to pass on their condolences to the man’s family and friends.

Fri 14 Aug 2009 :: Dovedale Search

webmaster@derbymrt.org.uk (Derby Mountain Rescue Team)

In what has proved to be a busy week, the tam were called out last night (Thursday 13th August to search for a missing 40 year male who had been staying at Ilam youth Hostel.

The team were called at 23:00 after the man had failed to return from a walk earlier in the day and his wife had alerted police. He had last been seen at approximately 15:00 that afternoon by the Stepping Stones at Dovedale.

Twenty three members of the team, supported by 3 search and rescue dogs from the region, searched the area throughout the night but the man was not located within the search area.

The team were stood down at around 6:00 on Friday morngin, with the possibility of resuming the search later in the morning if the man had not been located. Before the search was resumed, he walked into Ilam Hall Youth Hostel at 10:56 on Friday morning. As yet, there are no details about what had happened to him.

This was the second callout on Thursday, with the team being called out to search for another missing person in the Leek area that afternoon. On that occasion the missing person was located by police before the team arrived on scene and the team were stood down en route.

Wed 26 Aug 2009 :: DMRT On Facebook

webmaster@derbymrt.org.uk (Derby Mountain Rescue Team)

The team have set up a new presence on Facebook where visitors to the page can follow the team's activities, view photos, leave comments, join discussions, etc. If you have a Facebook account, just log on and search for Derby Mountain Rescue Team or just go to the following link Derby Mountain Rescue Team on Facebook

This page is intended to give far more details regarding the teams activities than can be shown on the team website, including training exercises, social events, team related photos and anything else that may be of interest to members and supporters of the team. It is hoped to make some aspects of the page as real-time as possible, including live updates of call outs.

We welcome input on the site and hope visitors will feel free to post comments or join in discussions

Mon 31 Aug 2009 :: Another Busy Weekend

webmaster@derbymrt.org.uk (Derby Mountain Rescue Team)

In what has been a busy period for the team and according to recent reports, all mountain rescue teams, Derby Mountain Rescue were called to three incidents over the bank holiday weekend.

The first callout was to search for a missing 39 year old despondent man on late Saturday afternoon in the Tansley area of Matlock. Police had called the team when phone signals had put the man in the Tansley area which is a rural location with many fields and wooded areas that had to be searched. Twenty nine rescuers and 4 search and rescue dogs searched for 6 hours but the operation was stood down as night fell and phone signals indicated the man was still on the move, possibly heading out o the search area.

The following day, the team were at a promotional and fundraising day at Dovedale when they received reports of an injured woman. The 44 year old woman had been descending a path down from Thorpe Cloud with her family when she slipped on wet rocks and injured her ankle. Team members treated her on scene before carrying her the rest of the way down and across the river on a specilaised stretcher to a waiting ambulance. She was then taken to the Royal Derby Hospital.

During the day, the team raised £447 from public donations and also dealt with several other minor incidents, including a lost boy and an asthmatic child who needed minor treatment.

On the Monday, the team were again called out to Dovedale to evacuate an injured walker who had slipped 80 feet down a path from Thorpe Cloud. The team were stood down whilst en route as the air ambulance managed to evacuate the casualty without ssistance.

This was the 9th callout that the team had dealt with in August and the 27th of the year, exceeding the total annual callouts for the previous 3 years. Nobody has been able to explain why Derby and most other rescue teams have witnessed a large increase in callouts this year but one popular theory is that the recession has brought many more people out to enjoy relatively cheap entertainments of the English and Welsh countryside.

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Wed 02 Sep 2009 :: Urban Search

webmaster@derbymrt.org.uk (Derby Mountain Rescue Team)

In the early hours of the morning on Wednesday 2nd September, the team were called to Breadsall Village to search for a missing 86 year old man who had last been seen by his family 6 hours earlier. Twenty members of the team were paged at just after midnight and converged on a local school car park to start the search operation. The man was located by team members within two hours of the initial call out. He was found safe and well down a wooded embankment close to his home. He had been out walking and had got into difficulty after descending some rough steps in the embankment and had been unable to get back up again.

He was escorted by team members up to the main track and walked to a waiting EMAS ambulance, where he was taken to the Royal Derby Hospital to be checked over.

This was an unusual call out for the team, being more of an urban location than most searches, but as the surrounding area features tracks and small amounts of woodland, the police decided that the specialised skills of a mountain rescue team were appropriate for the situation.

Fri 25 Sep 2009 :: Ready to Descend

webmaster@derbymrt.org.uk (Derby Mountain Rescue Team)

Team members have spent the day setting up for the weekend's sponsored abseil down Derby Cathedral's historic tower, which at 212ft, is the second tallest tower in the country.

More than 150 people will descend the tower by rope over the Saturday and Sunday (from 9:00am on Saturday and from 11:30 am on Sunday). Abseilers include the Mayor of Derby, Sean Marshall, the (very!) High Sheriff, Canon Elaine Jones from the Cathedral and Howard Ebison from BBC's The Apprentice.

The team will be out in force on both days with the team vehicles and displays set up for the interest of spectators.

Tue 29 Sep 2009 :: Cathedral Abseil

webmaster@derbymrt.org.uk (Derby Mountain Rescue Team)

This weekend (September 26/27), the team held it’s sponsored abseil from the historic tower of Derby Cathedral. Over the two days, 157 abseilers took the plunge (not literally – they all went down at a safe pace!), raising over £25,000 in pledges which will be shared between the rescue team and Derby Cathedral Chapter.

The weather held out for the event and there was little wind making for ideal conditions for those taking part. On the Saturday, the Mayor of Derby, Councillor Sean Marshall was one of the early descenders followed shortly afterwards by the High Sheriff of Derbyshire, Sir Henry Every and his 3 sons. They were accompanied on the ground by Miss England 2008, Laura Coleman, who came along to support Sir Henry and his family.

Later entrants included Howard Ebison from BBC TV’s The Apprentice and Jean Martin, a disabled grandmother and sufferer of cerebral palsy who, despite requiring the use of two sticks to walk, managed to climb all 212 feet and 190 steps of the tower to make her descent, landing to rapturous applause from the assembled supporters and onlookers.

On the Sunday, one of the first abseilers was Canon Elaine Jones, who made her descent shortly after the morning service, still dressed in her cassock. Despite initial trepidation, she overcame her fears and bravely took the “scenic” route down, accompanied by the cheers of her congregation.

Perhaps the most audible abseiler was lifestyle coach Jody Bunting from Channel 4’s Big Breakfast. Jody could be heard over half of Derby as he descended the tower resplendent in a fluorescent pink skin-tight jump suit and gigantic white furry boots.

Despite the fact that over 150 people made the descent, the vast majority of whom were complete novices, team members were very rarely required to assist with participants getting into difficulty on the way down. When team members did assist, it was more to offer support and advice rather than rescue. All abseilers made it to the bottom under their own control, although a safety rope under the control of the team was attached at all times ensuring their complete safety.

For the team, it was a hectic weekend with abseils scheduled to take place every 4 minutes but thanks to excellent coordination, everything ran smoothly.

We’d like to say a big thank you to all abseilers and their sponsors for making the weekend the huge success that it was.

The team's Facebook page will shortly contain an album of photos from the weekend once all photos have been collated and a suitable selection chosen.

Fri 02 Oct 2009 :: If the shoe fits....keep it on

webmaster@derbymrt.org.uk (Derby Mountain Rescue Team)

The team were called out to Thorpe Cloud near Dovedale on the 2nd October in order to rescue a stranded walker.

A 74 year old man had walked up the popular local hill but had got into difficulty near the top when he reached the steeper slopes. He had been wearing unsuitable footwear and had found that he had insufficient grip for the terrain. In an attempt to improve his grip, he had removed his shoes but found that it was still too difficult to go forward. He then attempted to remove his socks to see if that helped but unfortunately dropped his shoes which rolled down the hill, leaving him unable to progress in any direction.

Thirteen members of the volunteer emergency services responded to his call for assistance as well as the DLRAA (Derbyshire Leicestershire & Rutland) Air Ambulance. The DLRAA helicopter was able to drop two of it’s crew on the hill top whilst rescue team members ascended from below.

The man was found to be uninjured and was walked off the hill with the support of the air ambulance crew and rescue team members. His shoes were never located.

A team spokesman said: “This situation just goes to show how important it is to have suitable footwear when walking on the hills. Luckily on this occasion the man was not injured, but falls and injuries are only too common in this type of situation”.

Mon 12 Oct 2009 :: Thorpe Search

webmaster@derbymrt.org.uk (Derby Mountain Rescue Team)

The team were called out to Thorpe, near Dovedale, in the early hours of Saturday morning (10th October) to search for a missing 21 year old vulnerable woman.

Police had contacted the team after receiving information that the woman was located somewhere in the vicinity of Thorpe Pasture. Team members were alerted by pager just before midnight on Friday and assembled at Thorpe Car Park to begin the search. The team managed to make contact with the missing person by mobile phone and started to search nearby hills when a light alerted rescuers to Hamston Hill, where the woman was located. Although cold, she was relatively unhurt, but was examined by a team paramedic and doctor before being evacuated by stretcher to a team Land Rover at the bottom of the hill. She was then transported to the road, where she was transferred to an EMAS (East Midlands Ambulance Service) ambulance and taken to the Royal Derby Hospital to be checked over.

Fourteen members of the team were involved in the search, with more members turning back whilst en route when the team were stood down once the woman had been located.

Tue 17 Nov 2009 :: City Centre Collection

webmaster@derbymrt.org.uk (Derby Mountain Rescue Team)

Last weekend (Saturday 14th November), the team took to the streets of Derby city centre as part of their annual public awareness and fund-raising day.

With the team's vehicles and giant climber mascot situated at points along St Peters Street and team members and supporters located at points all across the city centre, the team collected £3130 during the course of the day.

The team would like to thank all those who contributed and also those supporters who came along to help the team on the day.

Mon 14 Dec 2009 :: Pay It With Flowers

webmaster@derbymrt.org.uk (Derby Mountain Rescue Team)

The Mickleover Floral Art Group have raised £1000 for local charities during the last year and on Tuesday night (9th December) presented the team with a cheque for £500.

The money had been raised by the 60 strong group by means of a “penny box” at their monthly meetings, selling produce from the chairman’s allotments, selling pickles made by the group treasurer from the chairman’s produce and by various other charity nights held throughout the year.

Chairman Robin Cobb and vice-chairman Carol Beard, presented the cheque to the team’s fundraising officer, Robin Goodchild at the start of the group’s annual general meeting, held at a packed St. Johns Church Hall in Devonshire Drive.

A second cheque for £500 was presented to the Derby and District Talking Newspaper Association, who provide audio tapes of newspapers for the blind and partially sighted.

Sat 06 Mar 2010 :: Multi-Agency Rescue

webmaster@derbymrt.org.uk (Derby Mountain Rescue Team)

The team were called out on Friday (5th March) to Thor’s Cave in the Manifold valley to help rescue a man who fallen 50ft down a precipitous slope after falling off the path whilst descending from the cave.

The man, in his fifties, had been out walking with his wife when the accident happened. They had visited the popular local attraction and were making their way back down to the valley floor when he stumbled and fell from the path down a steep slope, coming to a rest against a tree 50 ft above the river and sustaining injuries to his ribs, wrist, face and head

In a multi service rescue, seventeen members of the Derby team were called along with a Wetton & Alstonfields Community First Responder, police officers, two WMAS ambulance crews and a WMAS incident controller, Derbyshire Fire Service, Staffordshire Fire Service, including their specialist Rope Rescue Unit, the Hazardous Area Response Team and two air ambulances from the Midlands Air Ambulance and the Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland Air Ambulance services. Over 30 people were involved in the rescue, made difficult by the very steep terrain and loose earth in at the incident site

When the team arrived on scene after being called out at 13:45, the ambulance and fire service had already reached the casualty and had put him into a scoop stretcher ready for evacuation and were awaiting the specialist rescue teams. DMRT members arrived on site and transferred the casualty to their rescue stretcher and were then able to carry the stretcher to the valley floor, aided by a rope system. The casualty was then carried across the river to be transferred to hospital by helicopter

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Tue 04 May 2010 :: Busy Bank Holiday

webmaster@derbymrt.org.uk (Derby Mountain Rescue Team)

A busy bank holiday weekend saw the team attend three incidents over the period.

On Monday, May 3rd, the team were stationed at Dovedale for a PR and fund-raising event as part of the national Mountain and Cave rescue Awareness day that most mountain rescue teams were taking part in. During the afternoon, a man out walking in the area with his family tripped and injured his ankle. His wife, being aware of the team’s presence in the area, asked for assistance. Team members carried the man by stretcher across the River Dove to a waiting team Land Rover. He was then driven to his car where the family were advised to travel to their nearest A&E department to have the ankle examined.

On the Sunday of the weekend, the team were called to Black Rocks late on Sunday evening, where a mountain biker had had an accident whilst descending from the hill as night fell. He had sustained facial injuries and due to the nature of his accident, was treated as possibly having a spinal injury. He was treated on scene by a team doctor and again evacuated by stretcher to the Land Rover, where he was then driven over 1km on the High Peak Trail to an EMAS ambulance for transport to hospital.

The weekend had started off on Saturday afternoon, with a call to Stanton Moor to assist a woman out walking her dog, who had also tripped and injured her ankle. She had slipped close to the historic bronze age stone circle, the Nine Ladies and had walked a short distance on the injured foot before finding herself unable to continue. Team members examined her on scene and evacuated her by stretcher to where the team Land Rover had managed to gain access. She was then transported to an EMAS road ambulance to be taken to Chesterfield hospital for further treatment.

Fri 11 Jun 2010 :: Team Member Receives Mayor's Award

webmaster@derbymrt.org.uk (Derby Mountain Rescue Team)

Congratulations go to team member Jonty Roe, who was awarded an Erewash Borough Council Mayor's Award for his 38 years of voluntary service with Derby Mountain Rescue Team.

The annual awards are given to residents of Erewash Borough who have given exceptional service to the community over the years. Jonty had been nominated by wife Jennie for his many years of service with mountain rescue and he was selected by a council committee as a worthy recipient of the award. In typical Jonty fashion, he had endeavoured to keep the nomination secret from the rest of his team mates and was somewhat surprised to see myself with a camera skulking outside lkeston Town Hall, where the ceremony was due to take place.

Jonty is one of the longest serving operational members within the team and has served as radio officer for the last 25 years. He is still very much an active member of the team in training and callouts as well as serving on the operational management group.

Keeping it in the family, Jonty's mother was one of the first recipients of an award back in 1980 when they were first introduced, receiving it for going beyond the call of duty with her services as a community nurse.