Fontburn Reservoir

An individual who had been walking with their family around Fontburn Reservoir sustained a lower leg injury and was unable to weight bear.

Due to the location being some distance from the nearest road, the North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust Community Paramedic from Rothbury requested Mountain Rescue’s support. North of Tyne Mountain Rescue Team and ourselves duly responded, deploying two vehicles and members to the north end of the dam.

On arrival the Northumbrian Water Ranger guided our Toyota Hilux as close as possible to the casualty’s location, before the rest of the journey had to be made on foot. As other members arrived, all the equipment was carried into the casualty site and prepared for the evacuation.

The injured person was then placed on our Mountain Rescue Bell stretcher before being carried a short distance to a gate. Once over the gate a wheel was attached to the stretcher for the rest of the evacuation to our vehicle. There were a few awkward obstacles to negotiate along the way, not least the narrow boardwalks.

Two hours later we were back at the RVP and the casualty was handed over to the NEAS crewed ambulance for the onward journey to hospital.

We would like to wish the individual well for their recovery. We are also very grateful to the Ranger for their support.

The incident involved 16 members for 3 hours 10 minutes.