Members of a Cleveland charity are now better equipped to deal with emergency call outs thanks to Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) funding.
Cleveland PCC Steve Turner has awarded the Cleveland Mountain Rescue Team (Cleveland MRT) £3,500 from the Police Property Act Funding (PAF.)
Funding helped to provide response driver training for 14 of the team’s most frequently deployed volunteers. They are volunteers, who attend most emergency search and rescue call-outs across Cleveland and North Yorkshire.
As a result of the two-day Emergency Response Driver Training course, volunteers will be able to deploy quickly and safely to emergency call outs. They will use “blue light” and response driving in the team’s 4 x 4 Land Rovers.
The course covered advanced driving skills and how to stabilise a 4 x 4 vehicle in emergency conditions. It also covered how to make safe and effective progress and the correct use of warning sounds and blue lights.
Mike Gallagher, Cleveland MRT’s Deputy Team Leader, said: “The two-day course allowed us to have our driving reviewed by a professional tutor, learn about best practice and get an update on the rules and regulations governing response drivers.”
Cleveland PCC Steve Turner said: “Cleveland Mountain Rescue Team offers a vital and life-saving service to people in the force area.
“The public and police force frequently call upon their specialist skills to help in some of the most isolated areas of the region.
“I am proud to be able to support their work and help their drivers to attend incidents more quickly and safely.”
Specialist skills and equipment
Cleveland MRT has attended almost 100 incidents over the past year. Its 45 volunteers are on call 24 hours a day every day of the year. They respond to incidents, where specialist skills and equipment are needed to help people who are injured, ill, lost, missing or are in need of help.
The team covers a wide area including the North York Moors, parts of the Yorkshire coast as well as communities in the Tees Valley and Vale of York.
The most common incidents attended are slips and trips resulting in broken legs and wrists as well as back injuries.
However, the team also attends more serious incidents, where casualties suffer neck and pelvis injuries from falls off mountain bikes and horses.
In addition, Cleveland MRT has used its search and rescue skills to look for walkers who have become disorientated due to poor weather conditions and to find people suffering from mental health problems.