During their own refelction of 2023, Northumberland National Park Mountain Rescue Team and North of Tyne Mountain Rescue have responded to 77 incidents in 2023, more than the previous year.

This year they are hoping to decrease it.

“Our volunteers have responded to 77 incidents this year which makes it a busier year than 2022," Iain Nixon, team leader for Northumberland National Park Mountain Rescue Team said.

“The core of our responses have been rescues of injured or stranded persons (40) and searches for missing or lost individuals (25) but we’ve also had a busy year supporting local resilience in the wake of some extreme events, most notably flooding events.

“The majority of our incidents involved hill walkers but we’ve also rescued a number of fell runners and mountain bikers."

“Throughout the year, we've been lucky to work with the Police, Fire and Rescue, Ambulance Service, HM Coastguard and Great North Air Ambulance Service, as well as local farmers, forestry staff and Northumberland National Park rangers."

“16 of the incidents that we’ve responded to this year were ‘avoidable’. Before anyone sets out for an adventure, remember that you’ll have fewer daylight hours and you can expect it to get dark more quickly. This means you really should be carrying a torch and spare batteries”.

“When mountain rescue teams respond to a call out at night, it can take us longer to get to people. This means that casualties will be sitting out in the cold for much longer.”

Members of the public can get more information on Adventure Smart at www.adventuresmart.uk