By Pam McClounie

Published at 11:26, Wednesday, 25 January 2012

Keswick Mountain Rescue team attended 96 rescues in 2011 – the third busiest in its 65 year history.

Team members with an air ambulance

The team says it was not as busy as the previous two years – 2009 and 2010 when they had 136 and 144 rescues.

In addition to the 96 call outs, there were a further 37 alert calls from the police that didn’t end with the full team being called out.

Incidents ranged from 28 leg injuries to 19 searches, seven mountain-bikers and seven cragfast and 16 rock-climbing incidents.

Six resulted in fatalities.

The team, which is made up of volunteers, worked with the RAF and Royal Navy helicopters on 11 incidents and air ambulances on 20 rescues.

A spokesman for the team said: “All team members are volunteers – a fact sometimes not realised by our casualties or their families and friends and a fact often just not recognised by the general public.

“All volunteer members willingly give up literally hundreds of hours every year to go to the aid of walkers and climbers in need.

“In addition to all the time spent on rescues we train every week and also expend further time on maintaining and replacing equipment and running the business of the team.

“The team is hugely supported by members’ partners and families.

“We are further supported by team members’ employers who allow them to attend rescues during working hours; in the current economic climate this is further demonstration of the huge support we receive.”

The team is advising anyone who is going walking at this time of year to go properly equipped with warm waterproof clothing, spare food, ice axes and crampons.

Walkers should carry a map, compass, torch and whistle.

Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk