Two members of Northumberland National Park Mountain Rescue Team have received awards from the High Sheriff of Northumberland for their 'selfless' dedication to their team and community.
The charity recorded its busiest year on record in 2021, with more than 200 incidents and more than 100 which involved an active response from the team.
And two of those who have an essential role in making the team tick, Andrew Miller and Ninette Edwards, were presented awards by High Sheriff Joanna Riddell at a ceremony in Northumberland.
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Andrew, who is currently a duty controller, has been involved in Mountain Rescue for over 33 years and is the team's point of contact for Public Health England and ensured that the team received good advice when dealing with potential Covid contacts.
He has previously been a team leader and leads the team's engagement with Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service. Throughout the pandemic, he has been very active with the Northumbria Local Resilience Forum Executive and Tactical Group, attending two to three meetings a week.
Ninette Edwards, who has been a team member for over six years, has sought out new sources of income, prepared bids for funding and successfully secured over £25,000 of funding to offset 'lost' income through donations and other fundraising events.
With annual running costs of around £45,000, the team describe the funding she acquired as 'critical,' especially in a year when more and more people have been heading out into the Northumberland countryside after lockdown restrictions were eased.
Ninette's fundraising efforts have also enabled the team to purchase a third response vehicle, avalanche transceivers, probes and shovels; replacement helmets; and rechargeable head torches and handheld search torches.
Team leader Iain Nixon commented on the awards: "These awards are thoroughly well deserved. As a general rule, we try not to single out individuals within the team, but there is no doubt that both Andrew and Ninette have gone ‘above and beyond’ for the team and their local communities and we are immensely grateful."
