in the news
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted. If you’re out around the Rivington area over the Easter weekend, you’ve a fair chance of meeting some of our team members.
On Good Friday, we are providing safety cover and fundraising at Rivington Hall Barn.
On Saturday, we are providing standby rescue cover for Horwich RMI Harriers’ Rivington Pike Races.
We understand it’s likely to be a very busy weekend in all the popular outdoor spots within our operational area, and we would like to remind everyone to park responsibly when enjoying the fantastic countryside on offer. Remember, you may depend on an emergency vehicle being able to access gates, etc.
From all at Bolton MRT, have a great long weekend.
From Lancashire Police:
"Whilst we have now exhausted all search enquiries and so for the moment the searches have been stood down, we will of course continue to act on any new information reported to us.
Brian’s family have been made aware of this and are fully understanding of the position.
The family have expressed their appreciation of the extensive searches carried out by police and all the agencies involved, and to the members of the public who kindly offered their help and assistance in looking for Brian.
We and the other organisations involved in the search may conduct re-searches in the area to account for changes in environmental conditions or if new information comes to light."
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted. Our capability to use four wheel drive vehicles to access more remote locations in our operational area means we can reach casualties more quickly. Last weekend three team members undertook off-road driver training delivered by Mid Pennine Search and Rescue Organisation. A classroom theory session on Friday evening enabled delegates to understand the operation of our vehicles and their technical capabilities, different ground conditions and hazards to be aware of. This was followed by a day of practical skills training in the sunshine on the off-road course at Myerscough College. The team would like to thank MPSRO, Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue Team (BPMRT), Trevor the instructor and Myerscough College for an excellent course.
For two whole days, this weekend of the 5th and 6th of April, over twenty operational team members became hard-working students. After studying numerous Wednesday evenings prior to this, and also online, this was the intense push to get us all ready for our forthcoming tri-annual Remote Rescue Medical Technician (RRMT) practical and theory exams. For some this will be a renewal of their qualification, while others are taking it for the first time.
We were ably taught by Alistair and Sam, Health Care Professionals from within the team, as well as our Medical Lead David. The course consisted of lectures, demonstrations, hands-on practicals, and quizzes. There was also a wide variety of outdoor scenarios to get to grips with - both medical and trauma. These accurately simulated the kinds of incidents qualified RRMTs will be asked to deal with for real.
We wish all those team members who are committed to taking these demanding RRMT exams the very best of luck!
At 12.20 today we were contacted by North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust who asked us to attend an incident involving a 34 year old female who had sustained a serious lower leg injury in the vicinity of the Liverpool Castle folly in Rivington. While team vehicles were mobilising from our bases, two team members (who were very nearby, in Horwich) headed directly to the incident. North West Ambulance Service paramedics were already on scene. The Blackpool-based North West Air Ambulance landed in an adjacent clearing shortly after our team members arrived.
Our team members assisted the paramedics in their treatment of the casualty. Once the casualty was safely within the ambulance, our team members departed.
We wish the casualty a rapid and full recovery.
(Library pic 📸)
Last Tuesday at 12:28 North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust requested our assistance with an incident near to Rivington Hall Barn.
A 76 year old male was reported to have tripped whilst walking and had sustained a head wound. An ambulance crew was on scene with the patient.
On our arrival, the casualty was conveyed in a team vehicle a short distance to the waiting ambulance.
We wish the casualty a quick recovery.
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted. The team has put in a massive amount of backbreaking work overnight to help everyone trying to complete the Three Towers route.
Darwen Tower and Rivington Pike have been painstakingly relocated next to Holcombe Tower, so that locals might visit all three towers in one go.
We've rescued a few walkers on the 32-mile Three Towers route over the years, so to make life easier on the public and on us, we've decided to move all three towers next to each other.
As a result of this effort, the Three Towers route is now a 100m sprint.
Yesterday, mountain rescue resources were once again mobilised by Lancashire Police to assist with the ongoing extensive search for Brian Fletcher, who went missing on Saturday 22nd March and is believed to be in the Tockholes area.
We were joined by colleagues from Lancashire Police, Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (Official) Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue Team (BPMRT), Rossendale & Pendle Mountain Rescue Team, Holme Valley Mountain Rescue Team, Calder Valley Search & Rescue Team, Oldham Mountain Rescue Team, Cheshire Search and Rescue, North West Police Underwater Search & Marine Unit, and a specialist search dog from SARDA Southern Scotland.
Members of the public who drove along the A675 Belmont Road between 1:30pm and 2:30pm on Saturday 22nd March are encouraged to send dashcam footage to Lancashire Constabulary, by calling police on 101 and quoting log 1544 of 22nd March 2025.
At 23:42 on Saturday 22nd March the team was contacted by Lancashire Police who were requesting our assistance with the search for an 80 year old missing male, Brian Fletcher, with Police having concern for his welfare. Brian is a keen walker and has a number of routes he regularly walks in the Tockholes area, including Higher Roddlesworth Reservoir and Lower Roddlesworth Reservoir. His car was found parked on the A675 at Calf Hey Bridge.
16 team members from Bolton MRT and Rossendale & Pendle Mountain Rescue Team searched overnight in foggy, wet conditions, covering Darwen Moor, Roddlesworth Plantations, and Great Hill. They were joined by a drone team from @lancashirefrs
As daylight broke on Sunday further resources arrived from Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue Team (BPMRT) along with a HM Coastguard Search and Rescue aircraft and Mountain Rescue Search Dogs England.
The search for Brian continues today, Monday, encompassing parts of Darwen Moor, Withnell Moor and the Roddlesworth Plantations.
Brian is 5ft 8, slim, with grey hair and is believed to be wearing a brown cap, blue top and blue trousers. Brian also has a small scar on his cheek from a recent procedure.
For any sightings of Brian, please call 999 immediately and ask for Police. Any information which could help us locate Brian, please contact Police on 101 – quoting Lancashire Constabulary log 1544 of 22nd March 2025.
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted. The team has received some fantastic news from the children of Year 3 at St. Mary's Primary School, Victoria Road, Horwich. Some time ago we learned that the children were doing a project about mountains. Team members Paul and Mark visited them to give an illustrated talk about the work of our team. The class decided to do what they could to support Bolton MRT. Since then, four children in the class have been so enthused by the project that, between them, they raised £550! In order to raise this, the children walked up Winter Hill or Rivington Pike (a distance of about 5.5 miles) enough times for the total height gained by all the children to exceed the height of Mount Everest (29,030ft)!
On behalf of the whole team, Paul and Mark would like to say thank you for this amazing support. They very much enjoyed visiting the children. Thank you also to the children's class teacher, Miss Eaton, for making it all happen.
Two incidents were attended today by our volunteers, the first at Haslingden and the second at Astley Bridge, Bolton.
At 13:51 we were asked to assist Rossendale & Pendle Mountain Rescue Team at an incident between Jamestone Quarry and Troy Quarry, Haslingden. A 54 year old female was reported to have broken her leg following a slip whilst walking. Four Bolton MRT members attended alongside Rossendale and Pendle MRT members & the North West Air Ambulance.
Whilst returning to base from the Haslingden incident, at 15:44 we were contacted by North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust to attend Eagley Brook in Bolton, where a 9 year old boy was reported to have fallen down an embankment. Both vehicles from the first incident were just a few minutes away at the time. Working with Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) and North West Ambulance Service the boy was rescued from across the brook, assessed, and then carried uphill on our stretcher by a combined party of Mountain Rescue and Fire Service personnel.
We wish both casualties a speedy recovery.
To commemorate International Women’s Day last Saturday, Bolton MRT member Jane has answered some questions about her experiences with the team.
Q. How long have you been in the team?
A. I’ve been in the team for 7 years now.
Q. What do you do outside of MR?
A. Outside of the team I work as a Human Resource and Health and Safety Manager in the printing industry. In my spare time, I love being in the outdoors - preferably hiking or camping.
Q. Do you hold, or have you held, any specific roles in the team?
A. I’m currently covering as the Training Lead for the team. I have attended lots of courses. I am now qualified as a Remote Rescue Medical Technician, Party Leader, General Purpose and Off-Road Driver, and as a Mental Health First Aider. I have also attended a JESIP course, which provides a framework for emergency services to work together.
Q. What’s your favourite thing about being a member of Bolton MRT?
A. I love the camaraderie in the team. I’ve had so many laughs and met some great people. I enjoy being able to help people, and volunteering alongside such dedicated team members. I also relish the many challenges I have faced. These include being out in the tough terrain of the hills in all types of weather (I've been up to my waist in bogs); performing technical rope rescues; being winched out of a helicopter; and driving our vehicles off-road to access casualties in remote locations.
In a post on Saturday to mark International Women’s Day, we said we’d share some posts about women who help make our team the success that it is. Today, it’s Diane in the hot seat.
Q. How long have you been in the team?
A. 29 years.
Q. What do you do outside of MR?
A. I’m a business & economics teacher.
Q. Do you hold, or have you held, any specific roles in the team?
A. Within the team I am a Search Manager. I also book and organise talks about Bolton MRT for adult groups like WI’s, Rotary Clubs, walking groups. I have previously been team secretary and team treasurer. Outside of our team, I am secretary for the Mid-Pennine Search & Rescue Organisation, which is the region that Bolton team is in along with four other mountain rescue teams. I also help at national mountain rescue conferences.
Q. How come you decided to apply to join a mountain rescue team?
A. Whilst completing my Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, my teacher (who was the team’s Deputy Team Leader) suggested that, for my Gold Award service section, I join the team. I achieved my Gold DofE and I am still with the team.
Q. What’s your favourite thing about being a member of Bolton MRT?
A. I couldn’t say one thing. It’s a combination of helping others and giving something back, and the constant challenge from learning and being part of an amazing group of people. Many team members have become life-long friends.
Q. What changes have you seen during your time in mountain rescue?
A. That’s such a long list - the equipment, the vehicles, the training, the uniforms, the way we are called out, the radios, the fundraising needed to provide the service. What hasn’t changed is the enthusiasm and commitment of our members.
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted. Today is International Women’s Day.
Women play a huge part in the success of our team and mountain rescue as a whole.
Over the next few days, we will share the stories of some of the women in our team. First up is Liz, who’s been with Bolton MRT for just over three years.
Q. What do you do outside of MR?
A. I’m a Construction Project Manager. I also run a dog training business specialising in mantrailing (training dogs to find humans as a sport).
Q. Do you, or have you, held any specific roles in the team?
A. I’m part of the Support Team. Our main function is to identify fundraising opportunities, run and attend events and speak to the community. We also support the operational team’s training which can range from being a casualty, setting up surprise casualty exercises, through to operating the catering trailer on larger training exercises and live searches.
Q. How come you decided to apply to join a mountain rescue team?
A. It’s a bit of a cliché, but I decided to apply to join Bolton Mountain Rescue Team because I wanted to give something back to the community and, being a mountain rescue team, it fitted my interests and my love of the outdoors.
Q. What’s your favourite thing about being a member of Bolton MRT?
A. My favourite thing about being a member of Bolton MRT is the people. I also really enjoy the opportunities to organise exercise scenarios, and I always look forward to the festive season events we are involved in.
Q. What changes have you seen during your time in mountain rescue?
A. I’ve started to see more visibility on our social media platforms to engage with the wider public that may not know what we do, showing that our capabilities are more than just hills and mountains, and that our call out area spans way beyond the Bolton borough. I feel it’s important that we keep pace with the times in how we get our message out there, because without the public’s generosity, we can’t operate.
🚨CALLOUTS🚨
At 12:23pm on Monday 24th February we were called to assist a 72 year old who had suffered an ankle injury near Lead Mines Clough in the Anglezarke area. Team members administered Entonox gas for pain relief and splinted the injured ankle, before securing the patient into our stretcher and carrying them to our team vehicles. We then transported them to an awaiting North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust ambulance for further treatment.
Thank you to our neighbouring team Bolton Mountain Rescue Team for assisting us.
At 6:30pm on Tuesday evening, we responded to help a young male with a dislocated shoulder near Appley Bridge. After a medical assessment and treatment, team members were able to assist the boy off steep ground to the road to be taken to hospital by his parents.
We wish both casualties a speedy recovery.
Our very long-serving Support Group team member Gillian recently presented a Special Certificate of Thanks to Elsie of the Village Green Tea Room, Rivington. Elsie is the mother and grandmother of the present owners Jayne and Jade. In 2024 the Village Tea Room raised a remarkable £191 for Bolton MRT! Thank you for this wonderful and continuing support.
We’re recruiting!
You’ve possibly seen on some of our previous posts that it costs over £50k a year to run the team, and we are reliant on donations from generous members of the public or businesses.
We are being invited to an increasing number of opportunities to raise money, and we now need more people to join our support group to help with fundraising!
If you have a few hours a month to spare to help out with supermarket collections, village fairs, or a plethora of other fundraising activities, this could be the right thing for you.
If you’re interested, message us, and we’ll be in touch.
We have received great support from B33R @ 33 micropub in Horwich, who fundraised for us energetically last year. One of the owners, Mark, recently received a special certificate of thanks from Bolton MRT for raising an incredible £270 to support our work. A huge thank you to the pub and all their generous customers.