Penrith Mountain Rescue Team

Callout 46

Callout

The team were alerted by NWAS to a horse rider who had been thrown whilst riding in the Greystoke estate. As the location, whilst not accurately known, was somewhere up on the fell the team were asked to attend and extract the casualty. After piecing together the information we had, and speaking with the estate farmer, the casualty location was established and team members deployed. Due to concerns around the casualty’s back pain and mechanism of injury he was given pain relief then placed in a vacuum mattress on a stretcher to immobilise him. He was then driven in a team Land Rover to the castle and handed over to an NWAS ambulance for onward travel. Our thanks to those on the estate who assisted us on this callout.

26 November 2024

Mountain and Mine Rescue Teams submit planning application for £1.8m rescue hub

News Article

Penrith Mountain Rescue Team (MRT) and the Cumbria Ore Mines Rescue Unit (COMRU) have submitted a Planning Application in a joint venture to build a new operating base and rescue hub in Penrith. The new base will create a bespoke training, storage and garage facility, providing a hub for both teams’ operations in northeastern Cumbria, and across the wider county. This planning submission will also trigger a major fundraising drive to secure the £1.8m that realising the project requires. Penrith Mountain Rescue Team has been working hard to secure a new operational base, to be shared with COMRU, having comprehensively outgrown its current base, surrounded by residential properties on Tynefield Drive, in Penrith. Two years ago, the team purchased a suitable plot of land – off Cowper Road, on Eden Business Park on the western side of the town. Working with Rod Hughes, from 2030 Architects Ltd, a design for the new shared base has been developed around the operational requirements of the two teams, including vehicle and equipment storage, training space, an energy-efficient drying room and meeting rooms. This design, along with car parking space and landscaping, has now been submitted to Westmorland & Furness Council, as a planning application, which the team hopes to see approved in early 2025. COMRU – which operates county-wide - does not currently have an operating base, storing equipment and vehicles at members’ houses, outbuildings and premises. The project will provide two garage bays to protect the team’s two Unimog vehicles from the weather and secure the team’s operations in years to come. Penrith Team Leader Peter King said: “This long awaited milestone marks the beginning of a concerted campaign to raise the necessary construction funds. The team, a registered charity entirely run by volunteers, depends on donations and fundraising for income and, together with our COMRU colleagues, must raise all of the required funds for the new base by their own efforts. The team would like to thank the community and partner organisations for all the support received over many years, which enabled us to purchase the land and now enables us to be optimistic about replacing our current, outgrown base.” Chris Jones, COMRU’s Team Leader, added: “This is a very exciting time for COMRU to have the prospect of a centralised location from which to train and operate. We recently hosted the national cave rescue conference up at Nenthead mines near Alston and we frequently train in this part of Cumbria. Our Unimog vehicles will already be familiar to supporters in Penrith as in the past we’ve displayed them at GoOutdoors and raised awareness of COMRU and its specialised role.” The two teams would welcome approaches from any individuals, businesses or organisations interested in partnering over the construction of the new base, donating funds or supporting in kind in any way. The planning application – 2024/2057/FPA – can be viewed in detail on the local authority’s planning portal. Photos supplied: - Design of Penrith MRT’s/COMRU’s new rescue hub A & B – Credit: 2030 Architect’s Limited - Currently, the main base meeting room also serves as a drying room after Penrith MRT’s volunteers have been out on a search or rescue ENDS Penrith Mountain Rescue Team has 36 members, all of whom are volunteers. They are available 24/7 for 365 days in the year. In the first ten months of 2024 the Team responded to 42 call outs. Its ability to operate relies on donations and fundraising initiatives. The area covered extends from the Far Eastern Fells of the Lake District around Haweswater, across to the North Pennines and Cross Fell, and all the way up to the Scottish border, accounting for about 1600sq miles. Further information about Penrith MRT is online at https://www.penrithmrt.org.uk/. For further media information and additional images please contact marketing@penrithmrt.org.uk Cumbria Ore Mines Rescue Unit is a specialist team providing assistance to those in difficulty underground. Its remit extends to abandoned mine workings, natural caves, and subterranean man-made structures. It has 35 members, all of whom are volunteers. They are available 24/7 for 365 days in the year. The team is a charity and its ability to operate relies on donations and fundraising initiatives. The area covered is primarily Cumbria and additionally the team provides operational support to adjoining regions including Teesdale, Weardale, County Durham, the Isle of Man, and southern Scotland. For more details on the team visit their website: https://comru.org.uk/ For further media information and additional images please contact secretary@comru.org.uk

21 November 2024

Callout 45

Callout

7 November 2024

Callout 44

Callout

The team were notified of an solo walker who had become exhausted and unable to continue on his walk in the North Pennines. He was able to give a rough description of the route he’d taken following the Pennine Way but the team were unable to get an accurate location. Phone signal triangulation gave a rough location along with nearly a 10km² potential search area. Team members headed into the Pennines and searched the fellside, using the route description provided by the casualty to try and reduce the size of the area to be searched although this was hampered by thick cloud which reduced visibility to less than 5m at times. Colleagues from KSMRT and LDMRSDA came to assist through the night but by 5am teams had been withdrawn from the hill and more support from across the region had been requested. At dawn searching efforts restarted, assisted by more search dogs, drones, and a Coastguard Helicopter, although persistent low cloud restricted the ability of searchers still. Fortunately for the walker it had been an unseasonally mild and still night, so he had been able to stay warm and was able to continue walking once it was light. After several hours of walking, he came across a vehicle track and having updated the team was picked up shortly afterwards by members of a search party. He was checked over by a paramedic from LAMRT and was taken to a local B&B to recover.

5 November 2024

Callout 43

Callout

1 November 2024

Callout 42

Callout

The team were involved in a regional response to assist LAMRT in a search for a missing paraglider near Grasmere. Two team dog handlers were deployed on Tuesday, searching well into the night alongside other search dogs and members of LAMRT. The following morning a group of team members went to assist with the search, with another deployed as part of the Drone search team. As we were preparing to send further team members for the afternoon the paraglider was found alive on the fellside. Please see LAMRT’s post for more information.

29 October 2024