Moors rescue drama

AIR alert . . . medics prepare to air-lift the injured man to hospital

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::Elderly cyclist collapse

:: Hero walkers praised

A pair of walkers were praised today for saving an injured cyclist on a lonely moorland track.

Alan Gerrard and Brian Billington were heading down an isolated route in Denshaw when they saw the elderly mountain biker lying semi-conscious on the high-banked lane.

Retired policeman Mr Billington (70) and Mr Gerrard (67) ran down windswept Oxley Lane to help.

Mr Gerrard said: “We saw the man lying some yards from his bike. It was obvious something had happened and he was in a pretty bad way.

“We both had first-aid kits and Brian’s experience as a policeman meant we knew just what to do.”

They called 999 from a mobile phone and directed an air ambulance to the scene by laying down a florescent survival bag. The ambulance arrived with paramedics on board from Blackpool, supported by an on-the-ground ambulance, Oldham Mountain Rescue Team and police.

The cyclist, who had suffered a serious head injury, was flown to The Royal Blackburn Hospital for specialist treatment. He was understood to be recovering late last night.

Said an air ambulance spokesman: “The man had fallen off his bike and was very confused.

“He was very lucky to have been found by walkers because he was in an isolated, moorland area. Their prompt action certainly made all the difference.”

Helen Taylor (42), the owner of the Saddleworth Llama and Trekking centre, lives half a mile from the scene.

She said: “It was very dramatic. I first saw an ambulance heading along the lane and then police arrived.

“The next thing, an air ambulance was circling overhead before landing close to the incident.

“The mountain rescue team were crowding around the cyclist who was lying on the ground. They put a tent over him. Everyone did a great job.

“It’s really lucky someone was on hand to call for emergency assistance because Oxley Lane turns into a track at this point and is a very lonely spot.

“It is normally only used by walkers at the weekend and is surrounded by high dry stone walls.

“Because of the height of the walls, we would not have seen the injured man from our house.

“Anyone in trouble at this spot would have been very hard to spot.”

Mountain rescue teams leader Mick Nield said: “The injured cyclist kept drifting in and out of consciousness.

“He could not remember his name.

“We ensured he was comfortable on a special stretcher and the air ambulance took him to hospital.

“The two men who found him did a great job.”

Mr Gerrard added: “We just did what anyone would have done in the circumstances.”