Northumberland County

With Storm Arwen causing significant devastation across Northumberland and further afield, Northumbria Police, the North East Ambulance Service and Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service called on the assistance of Mountain Rescue. Our support was required for an individual suffering a medical emergency in a location that could not be easily reached by an Ambulance to a RTC and individuals stranded in their vehicles in remote locations due to fallen trees, swollen fords and snow.

One incident for a stranded couple lasted over 8 hours 30 minutes by the time they had been located on a remote road near to Embleton Terrace, were provided with additional clothing and walked to North of Tyne’s Landrover then transported to within 1km of their destination. They were then walked the rest of the way to the safety of their own home.

Members living in the Rothbury area, where our Toyota Hilux is based, were uncontactable due to mobile network and landline outages. Good old fashioned knocks on doors were required to activate these members and get the vehicle on the road, so that further incidents could be responded to, in particular a report of an elderly couple being stranded and requiring assistance.

The county wide support has also involved our Duty Controllers regularly engaging in the Local Resilience Forum’s multi-agency Tactical Coordination Group and members in the Rothbury area providing resilience support.

Our thoughts are with those communities and those living in isolated properties across Northumberland who are still without power and water. Stay safe.

The video shows our vehicle squeezing past a tree on the road between Rothbury and Scots Gap.

The incidents involved 10 Team members over a 33 hour period. A further 20 members have been on standby in case additional assistance was required.