Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association left with 50 per cent funding shortfall after challenging summer rescuing hapless 'staycationers'

Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association - a team of 60 volunteers who cover an area stretching from Ilkley to Pen-y-Ghent - have already responded to 50 call-outs in 2020, with three months of the year still to go. In 2019, they dealt with 44 incidents.

Many of these were frustrating episodes involving inexperienced walkers taking advantage of the 'staycation' boom to visit the southern Dales with incorrect clothing, equipment and navigational aids.

As the terrain covered by UWFR is less hostile than the steeper areas of the northern Dales overseen by their compatriots in the Cave Rescue Organisation and Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team, most of these call-outs were to treat minor leg injuries as a result of falls and slips.

Upper Wharfedale controller Derek Hammond has now reiterated the importance of wearing correct footwear and carrying a map, compass and torch ahead of the October half-term holidays - and has cautioned walkers against relying too much on mobile phones for navigation and light.

"We've had a lot more people coming into the Dales this summer who just weren't prepared. Often, this results in minor accidents, but because they're away from roads, we have to go out to them.

"We don't get sent to find as many lost people as we used to, and technology has really helped there. We now have tracking apps that can pinpoint someone's location via their phone, and we can send smaller response teams when we know exactly where they are."

It was also a relief to the team that they did not deal with as many 'despondent' incidents as they normally would - at term referring to requests from the police to help find missing people who have mental health issues or suffer from dementia.

"With half-term coming up, we're expecting a big increase in people coming out from Leeds, Bradford and York without the right clothing and footwear, or a map and compass - we get people relying on their phone who then drain the battery.

"This year we had a lot of calls to the Cow and Calf on Ilkley Moor, and to people who had slipped around the River Wharfe. A lot of them were people who wouldn't normally visit the countryside. They'll turn up with a cutting of a walk route from a newspaper, or a print-out from Google Maps, but they have nothing to fall back on if they get lost."

The volunteers were forced to cancel their major fundraiser, a Three Peaks Challenge attempt which normally takes place in June, and were unable to benefit from donations collected at coffee mornings held by their supporters. Another key income generator is Grassington Dickensian Festival, where the unit has a presence and will show visitors around their base - this too has fallen victim to Covid-19 restrictions.

Luckily, past financial prudence means the threat of disbanding has been held off, and Mr Hammond reckons the team have three years' worth of cash reserves despite the 50 per cent drop in the usual amount of donations they would expect to receive.

"We've had a real shortfall this year, and have been relying only on collection boxes. But we've been prudent with our funds, and we make sure we always have enough in the bank to cover two or three years of expenditure.

"Our costs have gone up, as we've had to buy PPE for ourselves, and more spare kit - items such as casualty bags, which now need to be cleaned for longer.

"Our volunteers live over a wide area, from north Leeds to Skipton, and we've had to manage the roster carefully so that we do not mix people from too many areas with different infection rates. Our rescues are conducted in close proximity to each other, and there was a risk of too many of us being forced to isolate at the same time."

Ahead of the Dales tourist season's last gasp, Mr Hammond has urged potential visitors to come prepared.

"Bring a torch with you - the nights are much darker now. If you're using an app on your phone to navigate, make sure you have a boost battery or a spare phone as back-up.

"Download location apps like What2words and OS Locate, which will help us find you. And if you're in trouble, don't wait until it gets dark to call 999. It's much easier to find you in daylight and we can send a lower grade response."