Acting in response to information possibly leading to the teams likely involvement, our Team Leader Garry Rhodes MBE contacted the GMP Force Duty Manager at 18.48hrs, to find out that co-incidentally the Force Duty Manager was just about to contact Garry to call out the team to the same incident.

Apparently a farmer had come across an elderly man, high up on the fringes of Holcombe Moor, to the south of Pilgrims Cross near Holcombe Tower.

His condition and behaviour was giving great cause for the concern of his welfare, and a Police Officer was now with the man concerned.

The team were required for a stretcher evacuation, and at 19.04hrs, after establishing further information from Police Officers, our Team Leader paged the team to a full call out, for all members to meet initially at our Ladybridge Hall Base / HQ.

At 19.31hrs our first two vehicles departed our Base / HQ, BM3 and BM1 with ten team members on board.

Shortly afterwards with ten further team members on board our BM2 and BM4 vehicles were about to depart our Base / HQ when news was received at circa 19.37hrs that a Police Helicopter from the National Police Air Service (NPAS 21 from City Airport Manchester – Barton) had managed to land next to the casualty in the wintry darkness, and had got the casualty safely on board, and was on route to Royal Bolton Hospital.

Our two team vehicles already responding to the initial RVP of Harcles Hill Farm, Holcombe were immediately stood down, with all other responding team members stood down by pager at 19.41hrs.
(As were Police Officers and the responding NWAS Manchester Emergency Ambulance all awaiting the teams arrival at Harcles Hill Farm)

In total twenty eight team members were involved in this emergency response.

Rossendale and Pendle MRT – whose Deputy Team Leader Graham Dalley, had been in contact with our Team Leader during the early stages of this incident, had placed his team on standby in case our team needed assistance, and they were also stood down.