News 08/04 | Coronavirus, COVID-19

Mountain Rescuers reinforce the Stay At Home message ahead of the Easter weekend

Like everyone else, Mountain Rescue England and Wales (MREW) is following the national health protection advice and applying it to its situation as a voluntary service.

“MREW’s priority is resilience,” said Mike France, SEO (Senior Executive Officer) of MREW. “We need to make sure that as many of our trained volunteers as possible are available for essential call outs and to support the paid emergency services as needed.” 

MR teams across the country have been disappointed to see walkers ignoring the national advice, travelling into National Parks and other areas and, it is assumed, expecting MR volunteers to risk their own lives (and those of their families and colleagues) to come to a walker’s aid if called.

“The hills and upland areas will still be there to be enjoyed once the restrictions are lifted,” said Mike. “We’ve seen a huge drop in the number of call-outs in the past couple of weeks and we’re very grateful for that. But it is vitally important that people continue to be responsible and that everyone stays at home over the Easter weekend. That is what will save lives and protect not only the NHS but also our MR volunteers.”