Donation helps life-saving charity buy vital equipment

From left: Iain Nixon (NNPMRT team leader), Ros Allen (Rothbury WI president), Caroline Dawson (chairman of the parish council) and Andrew Miller (NNPMRT member).

The money was raised over the last year from a variety of WI activities, including a secret book stall, plant sale, raffles, street fair litter pick, cake stalls, Jarbolas, harvest festival fund-raiser and a car treasure hunt.

NNPMRT’s team leader, Iain Nixon, said “The support for the Mountain Rescue Team provided by the Rothbury WI, and indeed the whole local community in the village, is unwavering.

“Without this continuous support, we could not deliver the life-saving service that we do. Specifically, this generous donation from the WI will be used to fund additional personal protective equipment for our water-trained members.”

President of Rothbury WI, Ros Allen, said “We chose to support NNPMRT because a number of our members use the local hills and mountains for recreation, and it is of great comfort to know that there is an active and reliable rescue service in the area should the worst happen.”

All members of NNPMRT are volunteers and it costs around £35,000 every year to keep the team operational. Public donations can be made online at www.justgiving.com/nnpmrt.

○ The NNPMRT and North of Tyne Mountain Rescue Team were called out to find a missing walker on Friday.

At 8.33pm, the Border Search and Rescue Unit requested support from the teams south of the border to search for an overdue walker on the Pennine Way.

The man, in his 70s, had been last seen by his wife at Phillip’s Cross, a few kilometres from Carter Bar.

As temperatures were falling to zero degrees on the tops of the hills, teams from both sides of the border were deployed, while the Coastguard helicopter from Prestwick was requested.

Thankfully, news came in that the walker had made his way safely off the hill to Barrowburn farm.

He had made a navigational error near Windy Gyle, heading south into England instead of north into Scotland.

The teams on the south side of the border would like to thank the farmer and his wife at Barrowburn for their hospitality and the cups of tea.