Volunteers rescue boy injured in fall from tor

Volunteer rescuers came to the aid of a boy who fell from a Dartmoor tor, hurting his head.

Dartmoor Search and Rescue Team Tavistock (DSRT) was called at about 3pm on Sunday, July 26, by the South Western Ambulance Service to help rescue the boy, 14, from Leather Tor near Burrator Reservoir.

Ambulance service specialist paramedics from its hazardous area response team were already looking after the boy, who was with his mum, but were not able to evacuate him without the right gear.

So, DSRT Tavistock sent their ropes team, stretcher and multi-terrain vehicles to the scene, secured the teenager to their rough terrain stretcher and lowered him slowly and carefully to the base of the tor.

He was then stretchered over boulders and undergrowth to the waiting ambulance on the roadside for assessment and treatment, three hours after the volunteers were first alerted.

A DSRT spokesman said: “We were called with a request from the ambulance service for the team to assist with the evacuation of a 14-year-old male who had fallen five metres on Leather Tor and suffered an injury to his head. Paramedics had reached the scene and assessed the casualty, but had neither sufficient numbers nor equipment to extract him from that location

“A full team callout was initiated and our 4×4 vehicles transported our kit and stretchers close to the tor.

“Ropes systems were set up to allow a safe extraction. Firstly a single-line system was used to secure the stretcher as it was passed hand-over-hand up to the ridge at the top of the tor. A dual-line rope system was then used to lower the stretcher from the tor to clear the boulder field. Team members then stretchered the casualty over a kilometre to the waiting ambulance at the roadside.“