Last updated at 12:14, Wednesday, 09 May 2012

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ANNA NOLAN was rescued from Skiddaw

I was rescued from a white-out on Skiddaw by the Keswick Mountain Rescue team three years ago.

I became stranded after venturing out on my own.

To me they can’t get enough money.

I think they are heroes and should be government-funded, they are so brave.

But I understand that they feel it would diminish their status.

The moment they become government funded, it will become a service and it will be expected by people.

I want their praises to be sung and for them to thrive.

The Government has just waived the VAT they pay which is helpful, but I’m not sure it is enough.

The mountain rescue teams are just wonderful people.

I had two teams looking for me, it was terrible and because of what happened, I have learned to turn back.

I don’t like turning back, but if the weather looks like getting worse, I will.

They probably saved my life and they have saved the lives of many others, we should do what we can to help them.

KAZ FRITH trains mountain rescue dogs and was out rescuing with Dottie on Sunday

I attended all four rescues, then was out in the rain on Monday collecting donations for the team.

This is always a tricky question. The problem with funding is that you are always going to get bureaucracy and red tape with it.

You would get a lot of opposition from mountain rescuers who see it from the point of view of helping out fellow members.

You might attract the wrong sort of person. It is all voluntary, so you attract people who have a lot of the skills needed and want to put back.

If you made it financially rewarding, you could be attracting people who would not otherwise do it.

We do depend on the generosity of the public for funding and in times of recession, we see funds fall back because people have less money and that causes an issue.

There are some area where we need funding – on the major costs such as equipment, insurance for vehicles and their upkeep.

MIKE HILL is team leader of the Penrith Mountain Rescue Team

Over the past five years we have become more professional, more is expected of us and we have helped out with disasters such as the floods.

It becomes more expensive to get equipment such as boats and dry suits, to pay for the upkeep and replace it.

There is an argument that teams could be kept on the same basis as retained firemen and that is something that would benefit a lot of people.

The rising cost of fuel is making it difficult for many.

We not only turn out for the emergencies, but we are asking team members to attend meetings and training as well.

Most members are happy with the way things are, though some funding a fuel allowance would be helpful because they are struggling with the ever-increasing price of fuel.

Most people’s opinion is that we are a voluntary service and we would not like to go down the route they have in the Alps where people pay to get rescued.

RICHARD WARREN is chairman of Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association

Going down the route of total government funding for mountain rescue would be the wrong way to go.

Once we become like retained firemen, or take the heavily funded route, the volunteers effectively become paid professionals and you end up coming under the Health and Safety at Work Act and the whole of the service would need to be standardised with common practices throughout and it would be heavily documented.

Currently, our teams are called out an average of twice a week, upto around 130 times a year.

If that figure gets to 150-200 call-outs a year for a team, it starts to become unworkable and then it might be worth looking at.

The balance seems to be right at the moment, it is not the right time to consider going down the funding route, maybe in 20 years it will change.

We do it purely voluntarily for the love of the job and because we want to help people.

First published at 11:27, Wednesday, 09 May 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk