Henhole, College Valley

Incident Type: Rescue

On Saturday, ourselves and North of Tyne Mountain Rescue Team were called out for a complex and remote rescue in the Hen Hole, one of the most rugged areas of the Cheviots – and one we’ve trained in extensively.

Northumbria Police received a 999 call, originally made to Police Scotland, reporting that a female walker had fallen and sustained a lower leg injury. With limited information initially, one of our Duty Controllers deployed PhoneFind to confirm the casualty’s location, placed both teams on standby, and alerted Border Search and Rescue Unit (BSARU) under our Cross-Border Protocol.

As the picture became clearer, a full team callout was issued with resources mobilised from team bases and the Powburn Show. The RVP was set at Mounthooly in College Valley.

Team members arriving on scene were ferried by College Valley Estates’ UTV to the Hen Hole entrance. They then made their way on foot up through the Hen Hole where they joined the BSARU member who had been walking in the area. The casualty was stabilised and given pain relief.

With a land evacuation through the steep Hen Hole terrain being the backup plan, more members and kit were moved up valley. The situation was soon assessed as suitable for a Maritime and Coastguard Agency helicopter evacuation, and Rescue 199 from Prestwick was tasked.

After a very high winch from the head of the narrow valley – coordinated by team members managing the highline, comms, smoke, and clearing bystanders – the casualty was flown to Cuddystone Hall, where she was transferred to a waiting North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust ambulance.

Once the casualty was safely evacuated, recovery of personnel and equipment could then take place, which included navigating steep ground and waterfalls. Support again came from College Valley Estates to assist in transporting kit back to vehicles.

We wish the casualty a swift recovery.

The incident involved 26 Team members for 5 hours 55 minutes.