Farnworth

Oct 12 2015

Incident 75/2015 – NWAS call to an evening incident in Farnworth

At 19.27hrs this evening, the team was paged by NWAS (Greater Manchester Area) Parkway EOC regarding a report of a 15 year old male, with a fractured arm in a local park in the Farnworth area of Bolton.

Our Team Leader Garry Rhodes MBE liaised with NWAS EOC, with information that access to the park and casualty was an issue.

Following a full team pager call out at 19.41hrs confirming the initial information of the 19.27hrs message, two team Land Rovers mobilised at 19.45hrs to the incident location.

Our Team Leader Garry Rhodes MBE, arrived at the RVP given at 19.50hrs, but could not locate the actual incident scene, and further liaised with NWAS EOC.

A temporary ‘holding point’ was made on Laburnum Road, with our Team Leader now in touch via mobilephone with the 999 caller, as responding members and the first two Land Rovers arrived at the same point.

At this point we were also joined by a passing GMP PCSO Patrol, one of whom was former Bolton MRT Support Group member Derek Thomas, a very long standing friend and valued team supporter, who lent his considerable local knowledge to establishing the incident location likely RVP.

All then relocated to the Mossfield Road entrance to the park, finding a GMFRS Pump Appliance crew already on scene, tending immediate casualty care to the injured youth.

It transpired that GMFRS had been called separately to the incident at a later time than the call to NWAS, who in turn had mobilised the MRT.

In Liaison with the GMFRS crew, casualty care was passed over to Bolton MRT (Two of our responding members, who are Accident and Emergency Nurses) who offered the injured youth, with a suspected fractured forearm, Entonox.

NWAS EOC requested we transfer the youth in one of our Land Rovers to Royal Bolton Hospital, thus freeing up an NWAS Emergency Ambulance, due to a large number of emergency calls being received by NWAS at this time.

By 20. 27hrs the youth was transferred in to the care of Royal Bolton Hospital, having been transported in our Land Rover Defender Mountain Rescue Ambulance , ‘Bolton Mobile 2,’ alongside his mother.

The following resources were involved in this incident;

NWAS (Greater Manchester Area); EOC Parkway.

GMFRS; One Pump Appliance and crew from GMFRS Farnworth Community Fire Station, and one GMFRS Incident Officer.

Bolton Mountain Rescue Team; Three Land Rover Defender Mountain Rescue Ambulances, ‘Bolton Mobiles 1,2 and 4,’ and our Incident Control Vehicle, ‘Bolton Mobile 6.’ Seventeen team members arrived on scene with a further five stood down responding.

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Aug 15 2015

Incident 63/2015 – Major search operation in Moses Gate Country Park for missing Bolton man Jerry Hennelly

Further to Incident 62 of late Thursday evening, 13th August, our Team Leader liaised with GMP on Friday 14th August, regarding the on going enquiries by GMP to locate the whereabouts of 50 year old Jerry Hennelly, who was missing from his Heaton, Bolton home in circumstances giving concern to Police for his well being.

Media appeals on social media and local newspapers was gathering momentum when at circa 18.30hrs on the evening of Friday 14th August, the car of Mr Hennelly was located parked at the entrance to Moses Gate Country Park, immediately off Hall Lane, Farnworth.

A police search of the immediate area was launched, including an NPAS Police helicopter asset, but could not locate Mr Hennelly.

At 09.43hrs on the morning of Saturday 15th August, a GMP POLSA / Missing Person Search Manager contacted our Team Leader Garry Rhodes MBE for the assistance of Bolton MRT to join GMP resources in the developing search for Mr Hennelly, which was now centred upon Moses Gate Country Park, Farnworth.

4Based upon previous searches in this large area, Garry advised and called upon help from the neighbouring teams of Cheshire SART and Rossendale and Pendle MRT.

By 11.50hrs, GMP, Cheshire SART and Bolton MRT resources had all started assembling at the main entrance to Moses Gate Country Park, with a decision made to relocate the search RVP to the main car park area within the Country Park, alongside the River Croal.

Here assets from the NWUSMU, GMP Mounted Division and RPMRT also arrived, and a large scale search operation quickly developed.
The search was co ordinated and managed in liaison with GMP, by Bolton MRT from our Incident Control Vehicle, with our Team Leader Garry Rhodes MBE, Steve Fletcher and Mike Marsh managing and co-ordinating overall the many search areas and search assets deployed.

Subsidiary co ordination of search areas and assets were also managed from the Control Vehicles of both Cheshire SART and Rossendale and Pendle MRT under the direction of Mark Susca and Robbie Davies of CSART, and Team Leader Peter Goble and Ted Handley of RPMRT.

SARDA resources included three air scenting search dog teams, two DVSD (Drowned Victim Search Dog) search dog teams and one Trailing Search dog team.

5Mountain Rescue ‘water’ search and rescue personnel mainly consisted of Bolton MRT members and our SAR Boat, but included Kevin Garvey of RPMRT and some Cheshire SART members.
This water element of the search was carried out in full liaison with the NWUSMU Sgt, who has operated for a great many years on search operations with Bolton MRT both when serving with GMP as a Missing Person Search Manager and now with the NWUSMU.

Search areas included woodland, open grassland, scrub, a canal, large lakes and small ponds, steep ground, rock faces, a major river and streams, allotments and urban areas.
Most of the overall search area was within the Moses Gate Country Park, including Crompton Lodges, and the River Croal, but extended along the disused Bolton and Bury Canal, Darley Park and Farnworth Cemetery, Nob End and Bull Hill.

Many of the search teams deployed included mixed teams of MRT and SRT members and GMP Officers / PCSOs, who carried out very extensive and comprehensive searches.

Throughout this major search operation, full catering support, with an endless supply of hot and cold drinks and hot food and biscuits / chocolate bars, was available freely to all involved, full time and volunteers, from the Bolton MRT Catering Trailer Unit, with Bolton MRT Support Group members Gillian Gregory, Iain Clarkson and Laura Tunnacliffe acting in much appreciated catering support from morning through to the late evening search conclusion.

1Bolton MRT Team President Bob Hutchinson made at least three supermarket trips at different times throughout the search operation to maintain the food and drink supplies, for the over 100 members from the various assets deployed to this search.

Early evening also saw a donation of a large number of Pasties from local catering company Carrs Pasties, which was very welcomed and much appreciated.

At one stage a quadcopter drone was deployed to aid the surface searching of bodies of water in the Bull Hill area (the drone operator – a former Bolton MRT member from long ago, is a fully CAA licenced drone operator)

With dusk, a huge land area already extensively searched and no finds relating to the missing person, the decision was made to suspend the search until the following morning, with Police enquiries continuing overnight.

2At 21.50hrs our Team Leader Garry Rhodes MBE, team member Steve Fletcher, and a GMP Sgt liaison Officer were the last search assets to leave the Search RVP.

Bolton MRT team members then met at our Ladybridge Hall Base / HQ to make preparations for the search continuation on Sunday morning 16th August, with further water search taskings and a search of a rock face area planned, further Trailing and DVSD Search Dog taskings made, alongside the continuing search involvement of the NWUSMU.

No immediate requirement was needed for the assistance of Cheshire SART and RPMRT on Sundays planned search, but both teams pledged to be on standby if required, alongside one of the three air scenting Search dog teams involved.

The following resources were directly involved in the search today;

  • Greater Manchester Police; Mounted Division, 2x Horses and mounted officers, two Detective Officers – Chief Inspector and Sgt, one POLSA / Police Missing Person Search Manager, large number of Divisional Officers and Divisional PCSOs, one Tactical Aid Unit (which departed early for a priority tasking)
  • North West Police Underwater Search and Marine Unit; two vehicles and five Officers.
  • Bolton Mountain Rescue Team; four Land Rover Defender Mountain Rescue Ambulances, one Ford Transit crewbus / Ambulance, Incident Control Vehicle, Catering Trailer Unit, 3.4 metre semi rigid inflatable SAR Boat, twenty six operational members and three Support Group members.
  • Cheshire Search and Rescue Team; one Land Rover 110 Ambulance, one Control Unit vehicle, one Ford Transit Support Unit, twenty operational members.
  • Rossendale and Pendle Mountain Rescue Team; one Land Rover Discovery Mountain Rescue Ambulance, two Toyota Hi Lux Mountain Rescue Ambulances, one Control vehicle, fifteen operational members.
  • SARDA Wales; one Trailing Dog Team, Handler Steve Nelson, navigator Elaine Gilliland, both from Bolton MRT and included in figures above, mountain rescue Trailing Dog Boris.
  • SARDA Ireland North; two DVSD Dog Teams, Handler Dave Marsh of Bolton MRT, included in figures above, and DVSD Search Dog Sasha, Handler Mike Dermody of British Transport Police and DVSD Search Dog Quincy.
  • SARDA England; Three Mountain Rescue Air Scenting Search Dog Teams, Handler Steve Garofalo, Search Dog Finn, from RPMRT, included in figures above, Handler Ellie Sherwin, Search Dog Pepper, and Handler Pete Farnell, Search Dog Meg, navigator Rich Smith, all three from Calder Valley Search and Rescue Team.
  • Ray Clift; Quadcopter drone.

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POSTSCRIPT;

On Sunday morning, 16th August 2015, at circa 06.30hrs in the general vicinity of Church Road, Farnworth, the missing man Jerry Hennelly was found, alive, we understand by Network Rail operatives / contractors, near to railway construction works.

He was admitted to Hospital by NWAS Emergency Ambulance with GMP in attendance.

Our Team Leader Garry Rhodes MBE was then contacted by GMP to cancel the planned search operation.

During the same morning, our Team Leader was contacted on separate occasions by the Search POLSA / Police Missing Persons Search Manager who had been involved the previous day, the Duty Detective Chief Inspector and the Duty Sgt / Officer in Charge, from the previous days search operation.

All three through Garry, passed on their thanks for the major support shown to this search operation by the civilian search volunteers and SARDA assets deployed, without whom all three stated this search could not have taken place with the thoroughness it was conducted nor the areas covered that were searched.

It can be reported that the multi agency joint team working of this search was excellent with all agencies working seamlessly together, in mutual support and assistance, the result of many years of joint operational incidents and multiple training exercises, combined with a great many of the personnel involved, particularly from the MRTs / SART and SARDA all having worked together co operatively on many previous occasions, including particularly all the Team Leaders, Deputy Team Leaders and Search Managers – full time and volunteers.

Please also see the following website reports for information on a Standby Rescue Cover for a local Fell Race also attended by Bolton MRT this same day, a request to assist LFRS on a search operation and a rescue call out to Tyldesley (Incident 64)  that was attended by Bolton MRT during the evening of the search at Moses Gate – Saturday 15th August was an undoubtedly very busy day for the Bolton MRT!

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Apr 9 2015

Incident at Moses Gate Country Park

At 17.22 today the team was paged by North West Ambulance Service following reports of a young boy who had fallen in the area known as Red Rocks in Moses Gate Country Park.

The call was answered by Deputy Team Leader Chris Greenhalgh who gathered information on the exact location of the incident, the best rendezvous point, the nature of the incident and the suspected injuries. The 12 year old boy had apparently become injured following a 20ft fall from a tree swing and Helimed and ambulances were also responding to the incident.

As Chris was about to send the callout message, he received a call direct from NWAS standing the team down. The paramedics and Helimed crew had managed to reach the boy and quickly evacuated him to safety meaning the team’s services were no longer required. At this stage, a number of team members were ready to respond in team vehicles.

This incident is not included in our incident listings and is here for information only.

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Jul 17 2013

Incident 84/2013

At 09.45hrs this already very hot and sunny morning, GMP contacted our Team Leader Garry Rhodes MBE for the teams assistance with the early stages of a search for a missing woman from Royal Bolton Hospital, in circumstances giving the Police concern for her well being.

With both our Team Leader Garry Rhodes MBE and Deputy Team Leader Geoff Seddon, collecting further relevant information, at 10.18hrs the team was paged to go to ‘standby status.’

In view of the ‘workday’ time of call, and likely search urgency, at 10.33hrs our Team Leader directly requested the assistance of Rossendale and Pendle MRT, with their Deputy Team Leader Andy Simpson, placing the RPMRT on standby.

Shortly after this at 10.42hrs with more information now available, the team membership was called out, to meet at our Ladybridge Hall Base / HQ for 11.30hrs.

In the interim our Trailing Search Dog Handler Steve Nelson, with his Mountain Rescue Trailing Search Dog Boris, met up with Police at a location linked to the missing woman, to attempt to then trail the woman.

Whilst here at circa 11.10hrs news was received by GMP that the missing woman had contacted her family, and was believed to be in the Manchester City centre area.

With the search area focus now no longer relevant to MRT involvement, we were stood down at 11.18hrs along with RPMRT.

In total sixteen Bolton MRT members and our Trailing Search Dog had declared themselves immediately available for this search, with a group stood down already at our Base / HQ.

Circa six Rossendale and Pendle MRT members had also declared themselves available.

GMP resources involved in this search included Divisional assets and the involvement of a helicopter from the National Police Air Service (NPAS 21, City Airport, Manchester)

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Dec 1 2012

Incident 86/2012

At 12.22hrs early this icy cold afternoon, the team was paged by NWAS (Manchester) ECC to respond to the Moses Gate Country Park, Farnworth, with the reports of a woman having slipped on ice.

The call was answered by our Team Leader Garry Rhodes MBE, who was able to immediately request the despatch of two of our Land Rover Mountain Rescue Ambulances from an event they were covering at Canon Slade School, Bolton. (See related website news report dated today)

Initially there was a little confusion over the RVP and exact location of the injured woman, given the large area that Moses Gate Country Park occupies and in consultation with NWAS (Manchester) ECC it was decided that responding resources would meet at the main entrance to the Country Park in Farnworth.

Our Team Leader Garry Rhodes MBE arrived first on scene at the RVP at 12.38hrs closely followed by the responding NWAS Emergency Ambulance at 12.39hrs and then our two responding Land Rovers.


Here three young boys met the Team and NWAS, they turning out to have originally found the woman, comforted her initially and then (Without a mobile phone themselves) asking a man and woman passing by to phone for an Ambulance. (The call being made at 12.17hrs)

The three boys had then run over a large distance to the main entrance of the Park, having heard our sirens, to guide us to the woman’s location.

Our Team Leader in his own vehicle was able to drive underneath the height restriction barrier to the Park, and with the three boys in his vehicle to guide him, he proceeded into the Park.

Meanwhile our two Land Rovers and the NWAS ambulance attempted to get through into the Park using another entrance to which we usually have key access.


Upon arrival outside the Rock Hall Information Centre, within Moses Gate Country Park, our Team Leader immediately despatched two of the boys to run back (Carefully, it was very icy) to the woman’s location to tell her help was on its way.

The third boy stayed with our Team Leader, to help guide him and the initial responding members and Ambulance crew to the scene.

Meanwhile it was established that the access keys we hold would not open the new locks fitted to the bottom entrance gate, and our quick thinking Team Leader requested of a nearby Ice Cream Van salesman if he had keys to the gate (He must have to have been there thought Garry)

The Ice cream vendor Lukasz Gnus of Walls Ice Cream, did indeed have the correct access gate keys and quickly drove to the lower park entrance letting all the responding emergency vehicles enter the Country Park.

The third boy then led Garry, and the two NWAS Emergency Ambulance men to the woman’s location.

Upon arriving at the casualty site , the woman was found collapsed face down, on a very narrow ice covered boardwalk, bounded on one side by an open lodge, and immediately on the other side by a rush covered iced over pond.

The woman was being comforted by the two boys who had run back to her, and they initially looked after the woman’s two dogs whilst the Ambulance men checked her over.

The woman had apparently slipped on the ice covered boardwalk, and had apparently fallen into the water and had then managed to scramble out again and onto the boardwalk, which in itself is partly submerged.

Here she had collapsed with suspected hypothermia, whereupon the three boys discovered her and then called for help.

The big priority was to get the woman warm and removed from the narrow boardwalk, with Team member Gillian Leigh now looking after the woman’s dogs which refused to leave her side (And probably kept her warm up to the arrival of the Ambulance and us)

The woman in a very careful manner, was placed on a Long Board, and then carried along the very narrow boardwalk, which was covered in ice and had open water either side of it, by NWAS and MRT members to the nearby path system.


Here at circa 13.20hrs she was placed on a SAR Alpine Lite specialist mountain rescue stretcher, and carried (Still conscious but unresponsive) back to the waiting NWAS Ambulance by the Rock Hall Information Centre.

Finally at 13.26hrs she was in the warmth of the NWAS Ambulance.

The three young boys who had found her, had continued to help, carrying some of the mountain rescue equipment back from the casualty site to the emergency services vehicles RVP at Rock Hall.

They also initially looked after the woman’s dogs again as Gillian Leigh was needed for the stretcher carry.

Due to the nature of her being discovered collapsed by the boys, GMP had also been called to this incident by NWAS, and at this point they arrived.

Along with Team member Gillian Leigh and one of the NWAS crew members, Police Officers went back to the actual incident site and cordoned off the area.

Shortly afterwards, with the three young boys assisting Police with their enquiries to establish the identity of the woman, the woman’s son and then her husband turned up, with both having become concerned for her as she had not returned from her dog walk earlier in the morning.

The woman aged 51, from the Little Lever area, was then taken for treatment to Royal Bolton Hospital, where she was admitted to the wards.

Police quickly carried out their investigations, with thanks to the young boys for raising the alarm and then helping out subsequently.

We also said our thanks, and offered to buy the three young boys an ice cream from the ice cream vendor, he in turn gave them all an ice cream for free, rewarding them for their actions.

Certainly without the help of these three young boys, one aged eleven and two aged twelve, this incident would have lasted a lot longer, and their public spiritedness given their young age was an inspiration to all of us present.

As an aside team member Gillian Leigh is writing to the Head Teachers of the schools of the three boys; Harper Green School and St James School, to ask that the young boys be thanked for their actions.

The following resources were involved and deployed to this incident;

  • NWAS (Manchester) Emergency Control Centre.
  • NWAS (Manchester) Emergency Ambulance and two crew from Rochdale Ambulance Station.
  • Bolton MRT; Two Land Rover Mountain Rescue Ambulance vehicles, and nine team call out list members.
  • Greater Manchester Police; At least three responding vehicles, four Officers and two CID Officers.

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