Kielder

Incident Type: Rescue

On Tuesday morning, ourselves and North of Tyne Mountain Rescue Team were alerted by Northumbria Police and asked assist a male mountain biker who had fallen and sustained very serious injuries in Kielder Forest.

Given the concerns about the casualty and ambulance access, the teams were mobilised. Thanks to an unusually strong phone signal in the area, the casualty’s friend was able to provide an accurate location via PhoneFind, allowing a rapid and well-coordinated response.

Team vehicles callsigns Curlew Foxtrot and Echo deployed with personnel, while a community paramedic made their way in on foot to stabilise the casualty. Forestry England workers assisted in identifying a drivable access route, and by 12:45hrs, Foxtrot was on scene, followed shortly after by an North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust double crewed ambulance, which was able to reach the casualty site directly.

With six responders on scene, including medical support, the casualty was treated, given pain relief, and loaded into the ambulance. The ambulance was then escorted back to the Skyspace car park and before the mountain biker was taken to hospital.

A great example of multi-agency collaboration and how clear comms and quick access can make a difference in very remote parts of our operational area.

The incident involved 17 team members for 3 hours and 30 minutes.