The Lake District Mountain Rescue Association has spoken out to issue an urgent warning to the public after two walkers from Manchester were rescued from Scafell Pike during a blizzard earlier this week.
The two fell walkers from Manchester, who were described as being “unprepared”, had to be rescued after getting lost on England’s highest mountain during a blizzard conditions and were eventually brought to safety in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Mountain rescuers spent eight hours looking for the men on the Lake District fell, and warned that if they hadn’t been found, it’s likely they would have died.
Richard Warren – Chair of the Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association – was part of the rescue team, and explained to the MEN that: “The two lads from Manchester hadn’t done the preparation [as] they hadn’t got the right clothing, they had no waterproofs.
“It was blizzard conditions. They had no compass, no torches [and] they weren’t even sure where they had parked their car.
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“They were very grateful that we found them, but it was very lucky that we did [because] we had great difficulty contacting them on their mobile phone and if we hadn’t found them, they would have had to spend the night on the hill in sub-zero blizzard conditions and then it would have been a very serious, life-threatening situation.
“But we did what we always do and got them warm, put some waterproof clothing on them and took them back to the road where they got a taxi back to their car in Keswick.”
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Mountain rescuers spent eight hours looking for the men on the Lake District fell / Credit: Lake District Mountain Rescue Association
With cases such as this happening in significant numbers, the Lake District Mountain Rescue Association has urged day trippers to properly plan their walks after what was described as an “absolutely chaotic” Christmas period.
Richard Warren said his teams were called out a record 680 times in 2021, and the start of 2022 had been “just as busy”.
Mr Warren said there had been two callouts on Christmas Day in the Lake District, and there had been a “very sad end to the year” when a man died after a medical episode on Skiddaw on New Year’s Eve.
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In the first four days days of 2022, there were another 19 call-outs.
Mr Warren said lockdown has meant many inexperienced walkers are coming to The Lakes for the first time and heading to the fells without proper gear or knowledge, so rescue teams are now pleading with people to check weather forecasts and whether they have the right gear before they take to the mountains.
Rescue teams were called out a record 680 times in 2021, and the start of 2022 had been “just as busy” / Credit: Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team
“We are trying to get the message out about the importance of preparation,” Mr Warren said.
“A lot of rescues are avoidable because people get lost with no map, compass or torch [so] we really we want people to start thinking about what they are doing, when they are doing it and to check the weather.”
All Lake District rescue teams are manned by volunteers and rely on donations from the public.
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Mr Warren told the BBC that he was “extremely proud” of the all the volunteers at the 12 rescue teams in Cumbria, and also praised all those who make donations to keep the teams running – with about £750,000 a year needed across all the Cumbria teams.
“We do it unpaid,” he said.
“Mountain rescuers don’t want to be paid. They do it because they love the mountains and love helping people.”
Plans submitted for new £250 million mixed residential neighbourhood in Stockport
Danny Jones
Plans have officially been submitted for a brand-new £250 million neighbourhood in the heart of Stockport town centre.
The new mixed residential mini-village simply dubbed, ‘Stockport 8’, has been put forward by the local LLP of the same name, set up as part of a partnership between Stockport Council and ECF (English Cities Fund – itself a joint venture between Homes England, Legal & General, and Muse).
Set to cost a quarter of a million, the proposed neighbourhood is just the latest step of the ever-growing Stockport Mayor Development Corporation (MDC) masterplan, a wider £500m scheme to transform the specific Stockport Town Centre West area into the most sustainable, liveable town centre in the UK.
With a planning application now submitted, we’ve also been given another look at what the new Stockport neighbourhood would look like if green-lit.
We first heard reports of the new Stockport 8 neighbourhood back in January after CGIs of what the developers envisioned were shared with the public, alongside how it fit into the West blueprints.
The overall goal of the development is to create a high-quality, green neighbourhood featuring a mix of housing tenures to suit existing and new homeowners and tenants.
Aiming to build a grand total of 1,300 high-quality, energy-efficient homes all told as part of a whipping £1bn investment in Stockport town centre, there will also be room for businesses and community spaces on the ground floor level to knit into the existing centre and its community.
There’s also an insistence from those behind the project to create different atmospheres, creating new environments for people to meet, socialise, relax and enjoy, such as residential courtyards and green roofs, as well as the usual modern amenities re: parking, vehicle charging, bike storage etc.
All told, the council and their development partners – which include chief designers, shedkm, and landscape architects, Planit – are hoping to contribute nearly a third of the homes in Stockport MDC masterplan, which is hoping to surpass 4,000 homes over a total of 130 acres.
As well as helping contribute to the busy and vital road network that is continuing to be redeveloped, the goal is to create a safe and sustainable travel environment too, with a pedestrian-only street running through the centre of the scheme.
With one big road (Cook Street) running throughout the neighbourhood, the new builds will also look to knit into Stockport’s existing structure, celebrating the area’s rich heritage and character by even reintroducing historic street patterns and street names.
If you’re interested in the skyline-changing new project, you can find out more HERE.
Planning permission applications in Manchester can sometimes take upwards of 13 weeks due to the various individual stages and processes, so we’re still a while of way from knowing if/when Stockport 8 will begin work but with a summer 2027 completion date, it could be a huge moment for the town.
Hidden drug den full of cannabis plants worth £100k exposed by police in Bury
Emily Sergeant
Police in Bury have exposed a drug den worth an estimated £100,000 hidden behind closed doors during early morning warrants.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) explained, earlier this week (9 December), officers from the Radcliffe and Elton and Church Neighbourhood Teams were joined by Bury’s newest district commander, Chief Superintendent Kirsty Oliver, to conduct a warrant at an address on Mitchell Street.
The warrant was conducted by acting on intelligence that was gathered from members of the public within the community.
Officers the address, where they forced entry and discovered what has been described as a “sophisticated cannabis farm” within the property.
A hidden drug den full of cannabis plants worth £100k has been exposed by police in Bury / Credit: GMP
The set-up was spread across two floors, and according to police, resulted in around 300 plants being seized overall – with half of them being at the beginning of their growth-cycle, and 100 which had been harvested.
All the plants seized have a combined street value of an estimated £100,000, it is believed.
On top of this, a vehicle was also seized after officers found it suspiciously parked outside the premises, and following further inspection, it was discovered to be outstanding as stolen and had false registration plates.
Early morning warrants uncover a hidden drug den worth an estimated £100,000 in #Bury thanks to intelligence from within the community.
Police believe that the warrant could be linked with West Balkan’s Organized Crime Groups, and are investigating additional lines of enquiry.
Chief Superintendent Kirsty Oliver, Bury’s new district commander, thanked the public for their help in yesterday’s warrant.
“We received information sent in by concerned members of the community who wanted to create a safer environment,” Chief Superintendent Oliver explained.
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“Communities are essential to preventing and solving crime, and I encourage you to continue to report any criminal acts or suspicious behaviour to us and let us know what is happening in your area.”
Emily Sergeant -
6th January 2022 
