Incident
9 in 2006
Type
Location
Other Location
Tagged

The team leader was called by the police to investigate and possibly rescue the occupants of five snow bound cars on the Cold Fell road which runs between Calderbridge and Ennerdale Bridge. Although the police and local radio had put out weather warnings of more snow that afternoon, a number of Sellafield workers decided to risk the journey home by taking this short cut. One of the cars occupants contacted Sellafield for help who got in touch with Cumbria constabulary. Cumbria police were unable to investigate or carry out any rescue attempt as all their 4 x 4 vehicles were in the south of the county stranded by the snow from the previous day. They requested the Sellafield police force to respond in their 4 x 4’s who got as far as they dared then called for assistance from the Wasdale team. Wasdale’s two landrovers were each dispatched with three team members on board along with the third vehicle to act as a radio relay at Egremont back to Gosforth base. Vehicles were checked out, again on foot due to the blockages, and car registrations passed back to the police who then contacted each of the owners by phone to establish whether they had all got off the fell road safely, albeit on foot. The incident was closed by 11.00 p.m.footnote – there were some reports the following day of people turning up at their local surgeries with blackened toes and feet from walking home in the freezing conditions with little more then a pair of light trainers. It’s perhaps a good job we only get conditions like these every 10 or so years.

Incident started at 20:30 and ended at 23:00 making 2.5 hrs in total.

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