Overturned van among three rescues as snow hits Northumberland

In a recent Facebook post, the Northumberland National Park Mountain Rescue Team (NNPMRT) detailed a "very busy" Monday (January 5) morning.

Crews responded to three back-to-back incidents, alongside the North of Tyne Mountain Rescue Team (NTMRT), as heavy snow and ice hit parts of the county.

The first incident occurred in the Elsdon area on Monday at around 8:30 am.

NNPMRT responded to a call from North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (NEAS) following a report of a casualty with a suspected lower leg injury in a quarry.

"Due to poor road conditions, team vehicles were deployed while others remained on standby," read the social media post.

"Access for emergency services was confirmed, and within 30 minutes, a community paramedic was on scene and able to manage the incident. Mountain Rescue resources were stood down shortly afterwards."

Just 45 minutes later, at approximately 9.15am, the team responded to a second call from NEAS, following reports that a dog walker had suffered a "serious injury" near Thropton.

The person was stretched after suffering a "serious injury" whilst on a dog walk (Image: NNPMRT)

"With worsening weather and road conditions, fully crewed team vehicles were once again deployed. Curlew Echo, based in Rothbury, quickly arrived on scene along with the community paramedic who, together with a mountain rescue paramedic, assessed, treated and stabilised the casualty," they said.

"The casualty was then evacuated on a stretcher in a mountain rescue vehicle when it became clear an ambulance would not reach the location due to the snow.

"The casualty was safely handed over to the ambulance crew further down the Coquet Valley later that morning."

The final incident of the morning occurred in the Hepple area, near Elsdon, as the teams responded to a request for assistance with a van that had left the road and overturned into a burn.

Aided by Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) and Northumbria Police, two mountain rescue vehicles were immediately diverted from the previous incident, with a third arriving on scene shortly thereafter.

"The fire crew stabilised the vehicle and swiftly gained access before both occupants were assessed by a mountain rescue paramedic," they added.

"The occupants’ three dogs were also safely extricated from the vehicle. Fortunately, no serious injuries were found, and all were discharged at the scene.

"A huge thank you to the mountain rescue volunteers and colleagues from NEAS, NFRS and the Police."