Mendip Cave Rescue

Mendip Cave Rescue were called by Avon and Somerset Police via SARCALL at 12:20 on 21st August 2019 for an incident in Wookey Hole Caves in Wookey Hole. A female visitor in her mid 30s, had slipped and fallen during the show cave tour and landed on hip/shoulders and was complaining of neck pain. She couldn’t move and was feeling very cold in chamber 2 of the showcave. South Western Ambulance Service and HART were also called, although the HART team were stood down when MCR arrived. 4 wardens attended along with ambulance service and stabilised the casualty before transferring her to a stretcher and carrying to the entrance and handing over to the ambulance service. The incident was closed at 13:47 with the casualty safely in an ambulance.

The British Cave Rescue Council (BCRC) was formed in 1967 as the representative body for bona fide volunteer underground rescue organisations in the British Isles. Its functions include representing and supporting its members at National and International level, promoting the exchange of information between member rescue organisations and providing a common voice for them. ResCon is the bi-annual BCRC Cave Rescue Conference, a gathering of cave rescue volunteers and others to discuss (and practice) cave rescue techniques and meet other cave rescue team members. The next ResCon is to be held on Mendip in September 2019, to be organised by Mendip Cave Rescue, over the weekend of 6th to the 8th September 2019 on the outskirts of Priddy in the Mendips. A ResCon 19 website is being created which will have full details. Please note that tickets are now available online from eventbrite, with weekend tickets costing £50 (to include camping, food and activities).

Mendip Cave Rescue received a message from Wiltshire Police at 17:30 on Wednesday 20th February, regarding an incident involving a lost dog near Box Stone Mines. A Jack Russell terrier had apparently entered a small hole more than a day earlier and could be heard barking, but efforts to extract him had so far failed. Four local cavers met at Quarry Hill, Box at 18:15 as Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service were departing. The Jack Russell (called "Patch") could be heard intermittently through a small hole clogged with leaf litter at the base of a rock outcrop. On inspection of the site it was decided that Patch did not get into the hole that way, so a search for an alternative way in was undertaken. A small, very old, low entry on the south side of the outcrop seemed most likely, so one caver crawled in calling to Patch, and coaxed him towards the entrance. A couple of minutes later Patch appeared on the surface for a slightly tearful reunion with his owners. Patch appeared uninjured and none the worse for its stay underground, and the incident was closed at 19:03.

Rescuers on the surfacePatch after the rescue

Photographs of Patch kindly provided by Derek Hawkins

Mendip Cave Rescue wardens rely on other cavers to volunteer and assist during rescues and other incidents.  As such, we maintain a call-out list of those cavers who are happy to help out when required. If you would like to be included on this list, please either download and fill in the MCR Contact Details form or the complete the on-line form below.

MCR Call Out List

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