Organised mountain rescue in England and Wales dates back to the 1930s, and the number of incidents has grown over time with the growth in outdoor activities. Many teams have formed (and sometimes merged or divided) over the decades, to service popular areas, with 49 teams currently in England and Wales. In late 2019, Rob Shepherd , MREW Statistics Officer, analysed the data we have to see how the numbers have changed over the years. These were some of his findings.
MOUNTAIN RESCUE CALL-OUTS BY ACTIVITY
CASUALTY AGE GROUPS: PERCENTAGE OF SUBJECTS BY AGE CATEGORY
14 12 10
8 6 4 2 0 >4 >9 >14 >19 >24 >29 >34 >39 >44 >49 >54 >59 >64 >69 >74 >79 80+
HILL WALKING MISSING PERSON LOCAL INCIDENT MOUNTAIN BIKING CLIMBING/SCRAMBLING OTHER
CASUALTY CONDITION
RISING INCIDENT NUMBERS: SNAPSHOTS BY REGION
800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0
1997 2007 2017
UNHURT MINOR SERIOUS FATAL UNKNOWN
LDSAMRA
MPSRO
NESRA
NWMRA
PDMRO
PENMACRA
SWERA
SWSARA
YDRP
The graph shows how the increasing numbers differ by region, decade on decade. Some regions have seen an increase of 40% between 1997–2017 but others have increased 3-fold or more in the same period.
‘Serious Injuries’ are those that suggest a reasonable risk to life (or would suggest an overnight stay in hospital and is a better category to focus on, rather than fatalities. This category also gives us a good number for ‘lives saved’ (at least this number) – and represents a good few hundred per year.
Main photo: Snowdonia © Sean Wareing l Pixaby. Top right: Harrogate search involving UWFRA © Sara Spillet.
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