Police Authority support Mountain Rescue Teams
Cumbria Police Authority have presented the Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association with £15,000 towards the replacement of vital equipment lost during their sterling response to the floods last year.
The cheque presentation took place following the Police Authority’s meeting on Wednesday, 17th February 2010, at Cumbria Rural Enterprise Agency, Redhills. Authority Chairman Ray Cole’s presented the cheque to Mike Graham, Richard Longman and Ian Clemmett; there to represent LDSAMRA, the Lake District Search & Mountain Rescue Association.
The Authority’s donation is on top of other support it currently provides to LDSAMRA (including £27,000 p.a. for insurance premiums) but was specially issued to cover vital equipment lost by team members during their sterling responses to the November 2009 floods in Cumbria.
At the presentation, the importance of the valuable assistance provided to Cumbria Constabulary by the twelve Cumbrian Search and Rescue teams was emphasised. Since 1947 Cumbria has developed the greatest concentration of search and mountain rescue teams than any other police area in England & Wales due to it’s geography. Often in the most arduous conditions, they are called out to help with casualty recovery or missing person searches on the Fells; but it was their increasing technical capability to carry out waterborne search and rescue which was most in focus during November’s epic rainfall.
Police Authority Chairman, Councillor Ray Cole said: “Every single team in the the Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association is a registered charity. They all want to remain a voluntary service and do attract considerable public support with funding, which is just as well when they are increasingly called on for 24/7 specialist support to our Constabulary and the other emergency services. That is why both the Authority and our Chief Constable are so appreciative of what the LDSAMRA membership do for Cumbria; and why our Members were so glad to approve this opportunity to make good some of the equipment lost to their teams during the floods. We know they will be putting it to good use.”