Cleveland Mountain Rescue Team (CMRT) really is a team with ‘summit’ to shout about.
The group of dedicated volunteers cover one of the largest geographical patches across England and Wales taking in the northern half of the North York Moors, the coast from Sandsend to Hartlepool as well as Tees Valley - some 700 square kilometres.
With around 45 Search and Rescue Team members and support members, including probationers, they range in age from 18 to 81 years. There is some real talent and experience among them with two members having clocked up more than 50 years with the Team.
Established in 1965, the Team comprises volunteers from all walks of life - plumbers and physios alongside IT specialists and town planners. They all have one thing in common - a passion for saving lives in remote places.
With a base in Great Ayton, CMRT is a registered charity and with no formal funding it relies solely on donations and fundraising to cover the annual running costs of £42,000. Team member Dan Scoular says: “I really like the fact we are funded by donations from the community - it is great to see the people that we look after, support and fund us.”
TheTeam has seen many changes in the type of call-outs it responds to since its inception almost 60 years ago.
Outdoor pursuits have seen a huge surge in popularity over the years and the ratio of searches to rescues has changed accordingly - now only around one-third of the Team’s call-outs are searches. The number of lost walkers has tended to reduce and now most searches see the Team looking for vulnerable people, particularly those suffering from depression or dementia.
Dan says: “Fundamentally, how we operate hasn’t changed but we have become a much more mature organisation. Even five years ago we mainly dealt with lower limb injuries on walkers who may have taken a fall. We are now seeing a greater spectrum of injuries and we are now doing more technically difficult work.”
The North York Moors are regarded as one of the best parts of the country for mountain biking and the areas around Scugdale are a real draw for climbers. This level of activity means the Team treats a huge range of complex injuries from bike riders, climbers, horse riders and paragliders.
The Team also assists the emergency services with evacuations and incidents. They are on call 24 hours a day, every day of the year and call-outs can last from four hours to two days.
The Team has two rescue Land Rovers which contain medical, technical search and rescue equipment. They are ambulances with the capability of carrying a casualty on a specialist mountain rescue stretcher.
Rachael McManus, from Redcar, joined CMRT in 2017. She says: “At the time I didn’t have any hobbies and I wanted to do something useful as well as being a hobby. I saw a poster for a sponsored walk for CMRT and I went along and chatted to members and decided to apply. I love running and being outside and it looked really interesting.”
CMRT has an annual intake of new recruits and at the same time as Rachael joined seven years ago, so did plumber Adam. The pair are now married and have a four-year-old son. Rachael, a Surgical Nurse Practitioner, says: “Adam and I were in the same cohort of new starters. When we got married I was driven to the church for our wedding in one of the Team’s Land Rovers and it was wonderful to have the Team members there. They are our extended family.”
Since starting with CMRT, Rachael has become secretary, deputy team leader and deputy call-out leader and has been involved in countless search and rescue call-outs.
Already this year, CMRT has been on 37 call-outs. Last year they had 57 call-outs and in 2022 they were called out 61 times. Sadly, some of the call-outs are to retrieve bodies. Dan says: “It is part of what we do and we need to look after Team members and we have plenty of care after we have done the sadder parts of the role.”
One of the new members taking part in call-outs this year is probationer Sarah Robson. The physio from Kirklevington, near Yarm, is a keen mountain biker and runner and joined CMRT as she wanted to give something back.
She says: “The Team is fantastic and everyone can really rely on each other. I am constantly learning and while it is a big commitment, it is so worth it and I am thoroughly enjoying it. I am one of ten on probation and it is wonderful to learn from the Team members - everyone knows exactly what they are doing. It is not just about getting the casualty down from an incident, it is also about getting the Team down safely too. There is real support from the public for what we do and when we go out and about doing talks and events, there is a real appreciation.”
Members meet weekly to train and in winter often head to the Scottish Highlands for training camps. As a Team they have a ‘water technical competence’ and are trained and equipped to work in flood situations, such as in York in December 2015. Dan explains: “Water is extremely powerful - it can move vehicles and I would predict we will be doing more water work. Climate change means we are seeing increased flooding, risk of moorland fires, deterioration of terrain and changes in biodiversity and pests. On the moors we are seeing flash flooding and that can cause mudslides and damage to bridges for example.
“The number of ticks out on the moors is really high and we found ticks in January this year. This means the risk of ticks and tick borne diseases has risen.”
Our region is incredibly fortunate to have such experienced, dedicated people willing to give their time, free of charge, to help keep us safe. It’s true what they say. Not all heroes wear capes. Some wear the distinctive red Cleveland Mountain Rescue jackets!
You can find out more about the vital work carried out by Cleveland Mountain RescueTeam HERE
A Big Thank You to CMRT for the images
