Ellington Dene

Incident Type: Rescue

At 15.58hrs on Sunday, our Duty Controller picked up a request from the North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust for assistance with evacuating an injured walker near Ellington Dene. While a NEAS double-crewed ambulance was already on scene, the casualty needed to be moved across recently ploughed fields to reach the vehicle safely.

With this information, a full team callout was initiated for ourselves and North of Tyne Mountain Rescue Team. Team vehicles Echo and Foxtrot deployed promptly under blue lights due to the challenging weather conditions and the nature of the incident. A revised rendezvous point was quickly established with support from a local member, allowing resources to be directed efficiently.

On arrival, team members from both organisations worked together to move essential equipment to the woodland edge above the River Lyne. Operational command was established on scene, and a clear plan formed to support the NEAS crew with a safe and timely evacuation.

By 17.16hrs, the stretcher carry began. In a light-hearted moment, our volunteers discovered it was the casualty’s birthday and gave a spirited rendition of Happy Birthday as they carefully made their way across the field. Once back at the waiting ambulance, equipment was repacked and all resources returned to their vehicles, standing down by 18.10hrs.

The incident involved 23 team members for 2 hours 44 mins.