Repair puts rescue team back on road

Oldham’s mountain rescuers needed rescuing when a vehicle smashed into their Land Rover as they went to help a stricken ambulance.

But a Stockport truck company stepped in to get the team back on the road in double quick time. The rescue team was called to dig out an ambulance which got stuck on its way to an emergency call in Middleton on Tuesday at around 7pm.

It was hit in the rear by another vehicle at a roundabout, smashing the back lights and causing other damage.

None of the five team members were injured and undeterred they set off on foot through the blizzard to free the ambulance, but when Gareth Hardy, boss of Stockport Truck Centre in Bredbury, heard of the problem, he had the Land Rover towed in to his workshop for repairs.

The vehicle was back on the road by tea time yesterday, ready for two more calls to help old people who had fallen at home where ambulances struggled to get up side roads.

Paul Smith, the contracts’ manager at Stockport Truck Centre, is also a member of the team, and said: “We normally deal with HGVs, but Gareth arranged a very quick turn round for our repair.”