One of the most recent training exercises for the team saw a joint exercise with Avon and Somerset Police successfully rescuing a teenager from limekilns near Wellington, Somerset. 

The aim of the evening was to practice call out procedure, the efficient deployment of teams and to develop joint working practices with the local PCSO’s and Avon and Somerset Police Tag teams.

The story unfolded that a teenager, Tom, who had been staying with his Grandmother in the village of Holywell Lake, had been playing with friends in the local Millenium wood.  The callout rendez-vous was the Holywell Inn, where a team Search Manager and Police POLSA (POLice Search Advisor), planned the search. 

Teams were first deployed to look for the Grandmother who had gone off in search of her grandson. Having found the Granny, a little scratched from brambles and with a twisted ankle, it appeared that the grandson was no longer in the Millenium woods.  With some help from the police phoning around Tom’s friends, it transpired that the friends had fallen out and Tom had gone off to play at the limekilns near Thorne St Margaret on his own.  Using local knowledge of the area, team’s were swiftly sent to perform a thorough search.

Tom was soon located at the bottom of the cliff face with a head injury and broken leg.  With reinforcement teams arriving with stretchers and medical kit, Tom was soon evacuated out of the steep bowl, across fields and to the awaiting landrover.  So concluded a successful exercise, with all parties working well together to resolve the scenario in only two and a half hours.

Thanks go to the Landowner of the Limekilns for permission to use his land, Holywell Lake pub for the use of their function room from which to base the search, and of course to Avon and Somerset Police.