At 12:46 today our Team Leader Garry Rhodes received a phonecall from team member Steve Fletcher regarding a moorland incident that required the team’s services.

Steve, along with fellow senior team member Mike Marsh and three other persons were all walking the “Three Towers” route, in practice for an attempt at the Three Peaks 24 hour challenge in July.

Having started their walk at 06:30 in the morning from Lostock, the party of five had already made their way to Rivington Pike and the Jubilee Tower at Darwen. Approximately two thirds of the way through this 26 mile route, and whilst near to Bull Hill in Darwen, one of the party members slipped whilst crossing a stile and fractured his ankle.

With the injured person being unable to walk, and still approximately a mile from the nearest road, it was decided to put in a direct call to Bolton MRT to assist with a stretcher evacuation from the hillside. The team was called out via pager at 13:00 and 19 team members responded, along with a team Landrover Ambulance (which was already “out and about” on a display/demonstration in Chorley).

The injured male was then carried on one of the team’s Bell Mountain Rescue stretchers back to the road, where he was then transported back to his home address by team member Andy Ryding at 14:20. An X-Ray at hospital later that evening confirmed that the ankle was fractured.

Of course very little sympathy and much rib-digging followed – we’re sometimes a cruel bunch!