“I was passing by and just wondered what a Mountain Rescue Team was doing here”, was how Patsy Calton, Liberal Democrats MP for Cheadle, greeted team members, who were taking a lunchbreak in the car park of the Heald Green Pub, during the previously mentioned search. Our Team Leader was introduced to Patsy, which gave him an excellent opportunity to show an MP the role Mountain Rescue frequently plays, in lowland search operations.
MP Patsy Calton was already aware of the Early Day Motion, in Parliament, which hopefully will lead to HMG offering financial help to all the MRT’s in England and Wales, to match that support offered by the Scottish Office to their MRT’s.

Patsy Calton MP, presenting Garry Rhodes, Team Leader, with a box of House of Commons Chocolate Mints.

Before leaving us, now much better informed of how we operate in support of the Police on missing Person enquiries, Patsy Calton, MP, kindly gave us a box of House of Commons Chocolate Mints, to share amongst those involved. (Our Team Leader can now truly say at future lectures, that the government once stepped in to feed us on a search!)

MP Patsy Calton asked us to keep in touch with her, and send on some information on the team. So there you are, we have another team supporter amongst the ranks of our local MP’s.