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Busiest year for mountain rescue teams in the Lake District

Unusually high numbers of emergency calls have stretched mountain rescue workers to the limits in the Lake District during 2009.

Mountain rescue teams in Cumbria are expected to record their busiest year for emergency callouts, and the Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association predicts its rescue teams will respond to more than 500 incidents in 2009. A total of 464 rescues were recorded in 2008, and 425 in 2007.

The rise in reported incidents is believed to be because more people have taken holidays in the UK during 2009, instead of travelling abroad, and visitors have not prepared well enough for the fells.

Richard Warren, chairman of the Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association said: “It is about people not taking responsibility for themselves by checking weather forecasts and taking the right equipment with them.”

Ramblers and walkers also came in for particular criticism, and Mr Warren went on to say they often turned to mountain rescue as an ´easy option´.

“They think we are fully paid and that they have paid their taxes for us, but we are actually volunteers. Rather than trying to get themselves off, like in the old days, they are now staying put and taking the easy option – calling mountain rescue.”

He went on to say that teams were increasingly having to combine their efforts between finding lost amblers and rescuing people injured or in ´dire´ need of medical help.

Callouts across the Lake District are up 10 to 15%, compared to the same period in 2008.

Some teams are dealing with more significant increases than others, and the Keswick team´s callout rate is over 70% up on the previous year. The association has now asked the Lake District Park authorities to better educate walkers about what equipment to carry and how to use it.

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