Mountain Rescue Teams across the country have had a busy December providing water rescue support to the victims of flooding in Penrith and Carlisle early December and then Littleborough, Salford and York over the festive season. Team members also remained back at home to continue to provide support to their local areas with injured or missing people.
The Woodhead Mountain Rescue Water Team were called shortly after 1pm on Boxing Day to Littleborough and Salford when flash floods hit. The role of Mountain Rescue during floods is to ensure the local residents directly affected by flooding are safe and well carrying out welfare checks on people living in flooded houses. The team also helped with the evacuation of a nursing home and help emergency services reach medical emergencies.
A few days later the water team were then deployed to help the residents of York in the flooding of the city.
Brian Bailey, WMRT chairman said “We got the call and we arrived at the rendezvous, a school in Fulford, York, to be greeted by dozens of mountain rescue vehicles from all over the UK from Cornwall to North Scotland.”
On arrival in York the Woodhead Water Team were soon deployed along with other MR teams to Skeldergate, a main York street which had become up to chest deep in flood water as the River Ouse had burst its banks. The Team and their small boat helped several people including the elderly lady in the picture below from their homes who had been trapped inside unable to leave with the rising flood water and no electricity or phones.
