THE district's two mountain rescue teams responded to their fourth call-out in the past seven days this weekend.

Volunteers from Northumberland National Park and North of Tyne Mountain Rescue Teams were called out to assist a young mountain biker in the Wooler Common area of the national park.

The biker, who had sustained potentially serious injuries, was treated by a community paramedic from the North East Ambulance Service, who arrived on the scene and from Wooler.

Working alongside members of the North East Ambulance Hazardous Area Response Team (HART), mountain rescue volunteers stabilised the casualty before carrying him on a team stretcher to the edge of the wood.

He was then evacuated using the HART Polaris all-terrain vehicle to the nearest road.

It followed two call-outs earlier in the week to search for missing persons from the Tyneside area.

“I think what this week’s deployments show is the versatility of both teams in being able to deploy for searches in urban areas and rescues on the hills and moors.” Iain Nixon, Northumberland National Park Team Leader said.

“We’ve seen an increase in call-outs since lock down ended and that is to be expected.

"We hope that the public continues to remember that when responding, our team members have to maintain social distancing and operate in PPE, which at times can be hot and uncomfortable.

"We urge people to plan activities that are within their capabilities and to remember that there may be a delay in team members deploying.”