Mountain rescue team in the right place at the right time

A mountain rescue team were fundraising at Handforth Dean when they were called upon to help with a serious road traffic accident.

Whilst members of the Kinder Mountain Rescue Team charity were fundraising in the foyer at about 3.30pm on Saturday, 9th August, a man ran up requesting their immediate assistance with a collision on the roundabout off the A34 slip road, as you approach the retail park.

Fortunately the volunteers were in the right place at the right time so three of them were at the scene within minutes, before emergency services arrived.

Fundraising Officer Sally Barnett explained "An elderly gentleman in his 70s and his disabled wife, who was sitting in the back, had gone down the slip road and he had accidentally hit the accelerator, hit the edge of the kerb and the chevron sign then flipped the car about three times. The car landed in the field on the left.

"My husband treated the lady for a major laceration on her neck, she had her handbag round her neck and the force had pulled it into her neck. He treated the laceration, applied a neck collar and did all the checks which he is trained to do, whilst I helped with diverting the traffic.

"We were at the right place at the right time. A police car arrived about 20 minutes later and an air ambulance arrived after about 25 minutes. Just before we got there a fisherman pulled them out of the car."

North West Air Ambulance, Cheshire Fire & Rescue Service, the police and a road ambulance, which transported the couple to hospital, also attended the scene and the road was closed for a couple of hours.

The Kinder Mountain Rescue Team then returned to their fundraising and managed to collect £620 which Sally described as "a large amount for us".

Sally added "We were in the right place at the right time and did what we are trained to do. Fortunately the lady is recovering well.

"We deal with mountain rescue but every now and then we are called upon to deal with different situations. The team are highly qualified in first aid and casualty care, they are all volunteers and get called upon for quite a few things, not just mountain rescue."

The Kinder Mountain Rescue Team is based in High Peak and is one of seven mountain rescue teams that operate within the Peak District National Park. Their 50 members operate on a purely voluntary basis and are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to assist members of the public on the hill or in urban search and rescue situations.

They are almost exclusively funded by public donations and were raising funds last weekend to help with their running costs of £25,000 a year.

For further information visit www.kmrt.org.uk.

Tags:

Handforth Dean, Kinder Mountain Rescue Team