THE Northumberland National Park Mountain Rescue Team is asking people to think twice, if not three times, before heading to the hills and it is essential that everyone takes responsibility for their own safety.

Team leader Iain Nixon said: “We’d like to offer our thanks to the public for staying at home and exercising locally over recent weeks and keeping themselves and our volunteer team members safe; this has ensured we remain operational and ready to respond to incidents.

“People should remember that they may well not be as ‘hill-fit’ and that their skills may be a little rusty.

“The public should follow the sound advice on the Adventure Smart UK website and consider their skills and capabilities, anticipate the weather and have the right equipment for the activity they are undertaking.”

The team have asked the public to consider three key points:

Safety - think about what outdoor activity you are doing and where, and scale back your ambitions in the current circumstances while following the Adventure Smart advice.

Risk - think about the risk to you, us and our families if you do have an accident on the hills; we can’t socially distance during a rescue and you or a member of the Team may unknowingly have the coronavirus, thereby increasing the risk of spreading the virus further.

Delay - while we are ready to respond to an incident, the time it takes to reach you will be longer than normal as we implement strict COVID-19 protocols to safeguard our members and your treatment and evacuation will also be slower than usual as we have to don additional PPE and wear this throughout in an environment it is not designed for.