At 15:40, our Team Leader was contacted direct by NWAS PEC Control for some help with an incident location in the Wigan area that was for a short time proving difficult to locate (they were using our local area knowledge of local place names).

A young boy had fallen into the rocky bed of a stream in some woodland, had correctly phoned 999, but was not able to give a location other than a local place name.

It was quickly established where he was, and due to his location the team was requested to also attend, with a full team pager call going out at 15:45.

Our first team members in a Team Landrover arrived on scene at 16:09 in the vicinity of Ackhurst Hall Farm, Gathurst, followed by the NWAS Ambulance also dispatched (which had arrived in the vicinity shortly before but could not locate the boy’s position).

As other team members arrived, and faced with a large area of woodland to look into, two local residents suggested and then led an initial party into the woods, saying “if there’s been an accident, it’ll be in this area.”

Team Leader Garry Rhodes, checks the Troll Stretcher, before the carry to the waiting land ambulance.

Well they proved the wisdom of following such advice, as they led us and the NWAS crew straight to where the 12 year old boy had fallen off his bike whilst in the company of two friends (who had stayed with him) and had landed in the rocky stream bed of Ackhurst Brook, sustaining a knee injury.

His leg was quickly placed into a vacuum splint, and a small party of Bolton MRT members then stretcher evacuated the young boy out of the steep sided wooded stream valley and into the comfort of the nearby Ambulance – throughout this incident, it was raining steadily. We also recovered the young boy’s mountain bike for him.

Casualty, waiting to be transferred onto the Ambulance stretcher.

By 16:51 the Ambulance departed for Wigan Hospital. We later established from the boy’s family that he had fortunately only suffered bruising and soft tissue injuries to his knee.

Three Bolton MRT Landrover Ambulances responded to this incident, with 15 team members directly involved and a further six stood down responding as not required on this incident (not forgetting of course the NWAS Standish Ambulance Station crew also involved)

Thanks also to the staff at NWAS Belle Vue PEC, who constantly guided and assisted us to the (ultimate) casualty location.