With the prior knowledge we were in the Rivington area, at 15.10hrs this very sunny and warm afternoon, our Team Leader Garry Rhodes MBE was contacted directly by the ‘Air Desk’ Dispatcher at NWAS (Lancashire) EOC Broughton, with regards to an incident requiring mountain rescue assistance in the general area of Healey Nab, involving an injured male mountain biker. (A passing member of the public had contacted the emergency services after coming across the injured solo mountain biker)

At the time our Land Rovers BM1 and BM3 with six team members on board, were parked up at Lower House Car Park, Rivington, having been out and about today as part of the National MREW Mountain Rescue Awareness May Day Holiday weekend, and so were able to make an immediate response.

The nearby Healey Nab area is within the primary operational response area of our colleagues at Bowland Pennine MRT, and at 15.14hrs Bolton MRT team member Steve Fletcher after discussion with NWAS, contacted BPMRT Team Leader Phil O’Brien for BPMRT to also make a response.

Bowland Pennine MRT initiated a call out of locally based personnel to assist with our six team members and two vehicles already responding.

Quickly arriving at the foot of Healey Nab, with the NWAA Helimed 08 also having just arrived overhead, and with the help of the local United Utilities Ranger, access was made via a usually locked gated track onto Healey Nab at circa 15.35hrs.

After a short search by Bolton MRT team member Steve Fletcher (Who is very familiar with the Healey Nab mountain bike trail) and Bowland Pennine MRT Paul Durham, they both located the casualty site, where the male involved was already being treated by the responding NWAS Emergency Ambulance crew and the NWAA Helimed 08 crew.

The mountain biker with a knee injury was partly assisted walking, and partly transported on an ambulance chair, downhill to the waiting NWAS Emergency Ambulance at Higher Healey Farm, Heapey.

The injured male was then taken for treatment to Chorley Hospital by NWAS, whilst his mountain bike and dog were taken in our BM1 vehicle to the nearby Bibbys Scout Camp, where the injured mans wife had agreed to meet the team.

By 16.40hrs this incident was complete on scene.

The following resources were involved in this incident;

• NWAS (Lancashire) EOC Broughton; Air Desk Dispatcher.
• NWAS (Lancashire) Emergency Ambulance, two crew, from Darwen Ambulance Station.
• NWAA Helimed 08 Air Ambulance Helicopter.
• United Utilities; Area Ranger.
• Bolton Mountain Rescue Team; Two Mountain Rescue Land Rover Ambulance vehicles, BM1 and BM3, four Call Out list members, two Trainee Team members.
• Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue Team; Seven Call Out list members involved. (Including Team Leader Phil O’Brien who co-ordinated the BPMRT response)
• Swaledale MRT; One team Call Out list member, who at the time of the incident was training with BPMRT and therefore responded with BPMRT.

During this incident use was made by our team linking with Bowland Pennine MRT of BPMRTs ‘Winter Hill Repeater’ radio channel, which served to ensure excellent radio communications between Bolton MRT and Bowland Pennine MRT.