Incident 11/2009

At 11.38hrs this morning we were paged by NWAS (Manchester) Emergency Control Centre regards the report of an injured mountain biker in the Georges Lane area on the edge of the moors overlooking Horwich.

Having established more details on the location where this injured man was thought to be, a full team call out page was made at 11.46hrs. Ariving at the location given alongside the responding NWAS Emergency Ambulance, our Deputy Leader Geoff Seddon discovered no sign of the injured person.

Now with our Team Leader also present, all relocated to the very end of the high moorland road of Coal Pit Road, meeting at Holdens Farm, where we quickly established that the casualty was on the bridlepath just before Holdens Plantation on the fringe of Smithills Moor.

Our Deputy Team Leader Geoff Seddon and Team member Dr Clare Whitney, went immediately to the casualty site closely followed by the Ambulance crew, and together commenced treating the 53 year old male mountain bikers serious lower leg / ankle injury, the mountain biker was a local man from the Sharples, Bolton, area.

Apparently the mountain biker had become unseated from his bike, whilst in the vicinity of some passing horse riders and their mounts, they in turn stayed with the mountain biker up to the arrival ourselves and the Ambulance Service.
Other team members in our team Landrovers who had been on hold in the vicinity of Bobs Smithy Public House, awaiting confirmation of the casualty location, responded quickly to the site.

With the casualties injury splinted using a team ’vacuum’ splint, and pain relief given, Enotonox gas, the casualty was stretcher evacuated on a Bell Mountain Rescue stretcher back along the bridleway to the waiting NWAS Emergency Ambulance at Holdens Farm.

By 12.47hrs the casualty was in the NWAS Ambulance and on the way to Royal Bolton Hospital.

In total the following were involved in this incident, NWAS Emergency Ambulance and two crew from Blackrod Ambulance Station, 16x Bolton MRT members with a further three ’stood down responding’,as not required and three Bolton MRT Landrover Mountain Rescue Ambulances.

The team would like to thank all at Holdens Farm for putting up with us blocking their access track into their farm for the duration of this incident.