S7. 11th April Standby Search 17:25 Hrs Prestatyn, North Wales. Team’s trailing dog and handler responded to a request to search for a person missing from home in Prestatyn. However, the person turned up, safe, before the dog unit could deploy.  (1 Rescue Person Hour)

13. 9th April Search 18:48 hrs Pressall near Knott-end-on-Sea. As we were about to start our weekly training session the Team was requested to search for a 77 year-old vulnerable male reported missing within the last hour. An immediate search of a local golf course was instigated due to a reported sighting. The search was stood down  just before 21:00 hrs when the person was located, safe and unhurt, some miles away in Thornton.   Our assumption is the missing person had used local public transport to leave the area. 31 Team members in attendance with search dogs from the Lake District  & Yorkshire Dales also responding.  (52.5 rescue person Hour) 

12. 31st March 23.11hrs Search Garstang. In an almost identical incident to our first of this year the Team was requested to search for a vulnerable female, aged 83, in the Garstang area. Reported missing from her home at about 21:30 hrs. The Team were about to undertake extensive searches of open farmland, woods, a local golf course including river and canal banks when the good news came that she had been found safe and well (15 Rescue Person Hours)

11. 29th March Search/ Pick-up 15:15 hrs Langden Valley, Trough of Bowland. Three youngsters undertaking a Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award assessment arrived at the Teams Smelt Mill base in the Trough of Bowland. They reported that another group were struggling down Langden Valley; one of this party had a knee injury.  Team members were told that the group was lost, and heading in the wrong direction, on the south side of the river. It had been raining very heavily for some hours, just as forecasted! Other groups were also in the area and their route was Dunsop Bridge, down Langden Valley via Langden Castle to Fiendsdale Head, over the fells and onto Waddecar Scout campsite. Contact was made with the group’s leader at Waddecar while three Team members set off in a Landrover to investigate. The group was soon found with another of their leaders, plus a doctor who was passing by who assisted.   All were transported to Smelt Mill where other groups had now also arrived. Hot drinks all round and a warm by the fire being all that was required until their transport arrived. (3 rescue person Hour) 

10. 25th March Search 20:00 Hrs Red Screes, Kirkstone Pass. Cumbria. Teams trailing dog and handler assisted Langdale Ambleside MRT with the search for a missing male, aged 67, in the  Red Screes area of the  Kirkstone Pass. Unfortunately the body of a man was found near Kilnshaw Chimney. (2 Rescue Person Hours) 

22nd March Safety Cover 09.00 - 14.30 hrs Fiendsdale, Trough of Bowland. The Team once again provided safety cover for the Fiendsdale Fell Race. No fell incidents to report.  (50 Rescue Person hours).   

S6. 22nd March Standby Search 04:33 Hrs Fulwood, Preston. Team Leader paged with a report of a female missing from home having received some bad news. Last seen at about midnight and reported at 03:00 hrs. Request was for initial searches of parkland, open fields & farmland towards motorway. However, just as a full Team page was about to be initiated the good news came that the person had turned up safe and we stood down. (1 Rescue Person Hour)

9. 12th March Search 04:32 Hrs Wheelton near Chorley. Team paged by Lancashire Police with a request to assist in the search for a missing from home vulnerable female, aged 80 years. Prevailing weather conditions were gale force winds and sub zero temperatures.  An extensive search was undertaken throughout the day. The Team called in additional resources in the form of Bolton and Rossendale & Pendle MRT’s. An RAF Sea King helicopter from RAF Valley was also used. A SARDA search dog & handler from the Cave Rescue Organisation completed the mountain rescue element.  Police resources included support units, underwater search and catering facilities. Sadly, the woman was located, deceased, the following day. (350 Rescue Person Hours)

S5. 7th March Standby Search 17:53 Hrs Out Rawcliffe Area. Team was paged following a report from a member of the public of a crashed light aircraft with flares and smoke seen. Report from the Out Rawcliffe area. Due to Lancashire Police helicopter being unavailable Merseyside Police helicopter used to search area as preparations made to bring Team to standby at our vehicle and training base in Garstang ready for deployment. However, following further enquires at Blackpool Airport and with local micro light clubs it was decided not to mount a search, as there were no reports of missing aircraft. Team stood down. (2 Rescue Person Hours)

 8. 4th March Search 22:00 Hrs Burnley, East Lancashire. Search for a vulnerable male.  Rossendale & Pendle MRT requested our trailing dog unit to assist. Accompanied by another Team member to act as a navigator they arrived at the RV only to be stood down immediately as, thankfully, the missing person had turned up safe. (4 Rescue Person Hours)

 7. 29th February Search 21.31 Hrs Harrisend Fell, Trough of Bowland. Team paged by Lancashire Police with two independent reports of flares being seen in the area of Harrisend Fell. Due to unavailability of the Polices own helicopter an RAF SAR Sea King helicopter attended from RAF Valley in Anglesey, North Wales. Checks made at local hotels for missing residents and at the local Scout Campsite to see if anyone was on a night navigation exercise With nothing found, no reported missing persons or abandoned vehicles in the area the search was scaled down just after mid-night. SARDA dogs from Kendal MRT and the Cave Rescue Organisation also called to assist. (60 Rescue person Hours)

 6. 27th February First Aid Assistance 13:07 hrs Warrington Town Centre. Whilst on a publicity event with a Team Landrover in Warrington Town Centre a Team member administered First Aid to an elderly lady who had fallen down steps outside the market. Team member remained with the casualty until the arrival of North West Ambulance Service paramedics. (0.5 Rescue person hours)

 S4. 11th February Request for Assistance 13:00 hrs Blackburn.  Team Leader contacted by Lancashire Police as to the availability of Teams trailing dog and handler in the search for a young person missing from home in the Blackburn area. However, dog handler was away in the Cairngorms on a SARDA training event and we were unable to assist.

 5. 10th February Spot Pick Up 13:06 hrs Tower Lodge, Marshaw, Trough of Bowland. The Team was paged by the North West Ambulance Service (Lancashire Area) to be informed that a female had fallen near the Marshaw Wyre River with a suspected lower leg injury. The team was quickly on scene and dealt with the injured person with a short stretcher carry across the ankle deep river to the awaiting land ambulance. (15 Rescue Person Hours)

S3. 3rd February Standby Body Recovery 13:20 hrs Anglezarke Reservoir.  Team Leader contacted direct by Team Leader of Bolton MRT. A body had been reported in the water at Anglezarke Reservoir and as they were already training in the area they were responding to the incident. Bolton Team Leader informed that this was probably the person we had searched for some days earlier (see Incident 3, 16^th January) and that if they required backup we would be available. In the end a multi-agency response including a Fire & Rescue swift water rescue unit was used to recover the body and we were not required.

S2 31st January Standby Bad Weather Cover 09:00 Hrs All Team Area. Request from North West Ambulance Service as to our availability to provide cover following severe weather warnings predicted for the next 96 hours. Various plan's drawn to ensure our 4 x 4 Landrovers could be fully staffed over the period. The predicted bad weather did not materialise in West Lancashire and the Team was not required.    

4. 27th January Spot Pick Up 13:13 hrs Anglezarke Quarry near Chorley.  Team Incident Controllers were paged by Lancashire Police to be informed that a person had fallen in Anglezarke Quarry. Bolton MRT already on route. Team Leader spoke to Bolton MRT’s Team Leader and it was decided to back up BMRT with Team members from ourselves. Person was rapidly transferred to the waiting North West Air Ambulance for onwards transport to the Royal Blackburn Hospital. (9 Rescue Person Hours)

26th January Training Exercise 08:30 - 18:30 Hrs Trough of Bowland. The Team again hosted a major Training Exercise in the Trough of Bowland.  A slightly different format this year with a number of “incident bases” set up over the Tarnbrook Fells – crag, casualty care  & search with everyone given the opportunity to test their navigation between the bases. We were especially pleased to see 10 persons from the Isle of Man Civil Defence Team attending. Others involved this year were from Rossendale & Pendle and Calder Valley MRT’s. RPMRT leaving early to back up their colleagues on a search in Nelson – well that’s what all the training is for.

16th January Over 70 Team members & friends again gathered at the New Drop Inn, Longridge for the Annual Chris Mayo Lecture. Chris was a former Team Doctor who was tragically killed in a climbing accident some years ago. This year’s lecture was on a series of expeditions undertaken by West Lancashire Scouts to Greenland in recent years. Lots of photo’s showing the tremendous scenery from this remote place with the Scouts undertaking first ascents of a number of peaks. Perhaps we saw a future generation of Mountain Rescuers? 

3. 16th January Search 10:30 Hrs Anglezarke near Chorley.  The car of a missing vulnerable male was located at Anglezarke Reservoir. An extensive search of the reservoir area, moorland edge, surrounding woods and farmland revealed nothing. Search dogs from Cave Rescue Organisation (CRO) and Exmoor Teams as well as our own assisting. Police helicopter in support. (120 Rescue Person hours)

Post Script : a body was recovered from the reservoir on  Sunday 3rd February.

S1. 14th January Standby 17:00 Hrs Bangor, North Wales. Team’s training dog unit brought to standby to search for a missing person in Bangor, North Wales. Stood down at 19:00 hrs when the person was located, safe at Holyhead, Anglesey.  (2 Rescue person Hours)

2. 12th January Spot Pick Up 13:30 hrs Helvellyn, Cumbria. Two Team members out ice climbing on Helvellyn were amongst the first on scene at an incident where a walker fallen a considerable distance sustaining severe injuries. Assistance from Patterdale MRT immediately requested with the person transported to hospital by RAF helicopter. Sadly the person was pronounced dead on arrival   (2 Rescue Person Hours)

Patterdale MRT Incident No. ??, 2008 (When logged on there web site this will be updated)

1. 11^th January Search 01.54 Hrs Garstang. Team requested to search for a vulnerable female, aged 66. Reported missing from her home in the Garstang area. The Team undertook extensive searches of open farmland, woods and a local golf course near home including river and canal banks.  Some 25 Team members assisted in the search.  The Team was supported by 8 members of Rossendale Pendle MRT and 3 dogs from SARDA. Other resources included from Lancashire Police – air support, dogs & underwater units and from Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service – swift water rescue unit (497 Rescue Person Hours)

Post Script – Sadly, Police recovered a body from the Lancaster Canal early on the 12th January.