Allen Banks

Incident Type: Rescue

On bank holiday Monday afternoon, ourselves and North of Tyne Mountain Rescue Team were alerted by Northumbria Police to a serious incident near the River Allen, within the Allen Banks area of Northumberland.

A man had reportedly fallen more than 10 metres from a riverside path onto rocks below, sustaining potentially serious injuries. The incident prompted a swift multi-agency response. The North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust deployed a Community Paramedic, a Double Crewed Ambulance (DCA), and their Hazardous Area Response Team (HART), with air support from the Great North Air Ambulance Service rapidly following.

The first Mountain Rescue resources were on scene quickly and confirmed that the casualty was located beneath a vertical, and in places overhanging, section of riverbank – making access and extraction particularly complex.

Multiple extraction routes were considered, all presenting significant challenges and risks due to the steep, unstable terrain and the position of the casualty under an overhang. After careful assessment and the arrival of further Mountain Rescue resources, a plan was agreed to transfer the casualty on a stretcher hand-over-hand across the River Allen and over the difficult rocky terrain to reach a more suitable extraction point further upstream.

Thanks to expert coordination between ourselves, NEAS and GNAAS crews on scene, the casualty was successfully transferred to the HART Polaris vehicle and then an Ambulance for onward transport to definitive medical care.

We would like to extend our thanks to the members of public who cared for the injured party before the arrival of the emergency services. The successful outcome reflects the strength of the inter-agency cooperation and the dedication of all involved in this complex rescue.

The incident involved 32 Team members for 4 hours 24 minutes.