Long service awards for mountain heroes

The full Oldham Mountain Rescue Team line up

While attending their first monthly exercise, the Oldham Mountain Rescue Team used the opportunity to present some overdue Mountain Rescue England and Wales 10, 20 and 30 year long service awards.

The team also gathered everyone for their first team photo in a while. 

Ten years service awards went to Justin Parkinson, Scott Downs, Paul Bruton, Iain Airth, Andy Hadfield, Jake Brown, Steve Bramwell and Adam Knight.

Katie Johnson received a 20 years service award from Team Leader Rob Tortoiseshell, while Mike Porritt received his 30 years service award.

The team then headed up to Chew Valley to practice some stretcher hauling using their new steep ground kits, purchased with the help of the Morrisons Foundation. 

And to cap it all off, just after they finished checking all the kit and were getting ready to head home, they received a request from North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust, who had a report of a person stuck on a ledge near Dovestones. 

Fortunately, just as they were deploying, the call came to say the person had self-rescued and the team’s assistance was not required.

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