MOUNTAIN rescue volunteers in the Peak District are experiencing one of their busiest years ever – with one team having already exceeding its 2008 call-out total.
Derby Mountain Rescue Team's search for a vulnerable man near Tansley last week brought the voluntary squad's total to 26 incidents in 2009.
Mountain rescuer Kevin Corcoran said: "A further call to Dovedale was the 27th, exceeding the total annua
l call-outs for the previous three years.
"It's happening across the country. One popular theory is the increase in people staying at home is leading more people into the hills – that's the best guess."
The vast majority of the Derby team's call-outs were to unforeseen accidents, but others were due to under-preparation.
Mr Corcoran said: "Some people don't realise our hills and moors can be serious places and we've even seen one walker going up Thorpe Cloud in flip-flops.
"The problem is it's difficult to find time for fundraising and the more incidents we have the more money we need for petrol and equipment."
Edale Mountain Rescue Team, which covers the northern Peak District, is one of the busiest teams in the country, averaging 100 incidents each year.
Team member Martin Gorman said: "We're on course for around 100 again which is nothing exceptional for us now.
"Around ten years ago we'd have had around 60 jobs a year, but in the last five or six years it's really picked up."
Mr Gorman said the volume of calls for assistance from the police and ambulance, sometimes outside the Peak District, had increased.
But he added: "We are happy to do that as we recognise police have limited numbers and we can be a valuable resource.
"It is fundraising and recruitment that are the perennial problems for us, as joining up is a huge commitment and every penny we spend we have to raise one way or another."
