Three local members of parliament took part in a mountain rescue training exercise on Kinder Scout last weekend (19 July).

Angela Smith, MP for Sheffield Hillsborough, Tom Levitt, MP for High Peak, and Charlotte Atkins, MP for Staffordshire Moorlands, were brought back to safety after a made-up mishap happened whilst they were out for a walk. 

In torrential rain, 70 members of Buxton, Kinder, Edale and Glossop mountain rescue teams turned out for the search exercise concentrated on the southern edge of Kinder Scout.

As well as being a useful training exercise in search co-ordination and casualty evacuation, the event was planned to highlight the work of mountain rescue teams and to raise awareness both publicly and in the Houses of Parliament. 

Tom Levitt has been leading a campaign for Mountain Rescue to be recognised as an emergency service with greater support from central government. At the moment the voluntary rescue teams, funded entirely by charity, have to pay 15% VAT on nearly everything they buy. 

Angela Smith MP is the BMC's parliamentary representative for mountaineering, under Sport England's Parliamentary Fellowship Scheme.

Read more on the Buxton Mountain Rescue website.

Today, Prince William has praised the work of Cumbria’s mountain rescue team volunteers referring to them as “unsung heroes”. Read more here.

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