Mountain rescue teams stretched

The advent of the so-called "staycation" has seen a boom in British tourism, but it has also led to a dramatic increase in demand for the specialist skills of mountain rescue teams in England and Wales.

The Yorkshire Dales has witnessed the biggest percentage increase in the number of rescues nationally, with latest figures for 2009 showing a rise of more than 100 per cent. The statistics released by the Mountain Rescue (England and Wales) organisation have revealed that the number of incidents nationally has soared by 21 per cent to 1,054 call-outs last year compared with 880 during the previous 12 months.

Ged Feeney, of Mountain Rescue (England and Wales), said: "Proper use of a map and compass could reduce this figure overnight – both items are readily available and cheap, but they are useless without knowledge and experience to use them."

Mountain rescue teams in Cumbria were the busiest last year, with 438 call-outs compared to 400 incidents during the previous 12 months.

However, organisations covering the Yorkshire Dales, including the Clapham-based Cave Rescue Organisation and the Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association, witnessed a doubling from 39 to 81 call-outs for major incidents.

The Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team has already dealt with nine call-outs since the start of January, and it is estimated the organisation will deal with in excess of 35 incidents in 2010 compared with 30 during last year.

The rescue team, which has about 50 members, is also increasingly used by North Yorkshire Police to aid major investigations such as the search for missing Claudia Lawrence, who was last seen close to her York home in March last year.

The annual operating costs of the Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team, which is reliant on public donations, is currently about 25,000, although the figure is expected to be 30,000 this year.

Dr William Lumb, the chairman of the Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team and who is also a GP in Sedburgh, said: "There have without doubt been more people out in the countryside during the last year as they have decided to save some money and holiday in Britain.

"People are also remaining more active into later life, which is obviously good news. But this means that with an ageing population, we are seeing more elderly people heading out into places like Swaledale.

"By the very nature of statistics, this means that more people are likely to get into trouble and require the services of mountain rescue teams."

The tourism organisation, Welcome to Yorkshire, announced in February that the amount of money spent by visitors in the region increased by 13 per cent during 2009. Yorkshire's tourism industry is worth more than 6bn a year.