Avon & Somerset Search & Rescue

40 ASC Log No. 0032 (20/12/10). 22/23/24 December 2010. The search and technical rescue team were called to assist the police with an ongoing search for a missing female in Clifton, Bristol. The persons house was very close to the Avon Gorge, so a thorough search of the woods, cliffs and other steep ground was required. The search and rescue team was on call for 72 hours, but unfortunately nothing of significance was found. The search was hampered by heavy snow fall and extremely low temperatures. Ice axes were issued to team members as a safety precaution. The team was stood down on 24th December at 14:00.

39 ASC Log No. 586. The CRO was called by police control at 23:05 alerting the team to a missing 48 year old female in Keynsham. This person was known to be vulnerable and the snowy weather and extreme temperatures (-7 degrees of frost), made the case urgent. The team was called out at 23:21. The RV point was Keynsham Police Station. The CRO arrived and directed the police to search down towards the River Chew, where the casualty was quickly located. The team first responders provided on scene medical care until the paramedics arrived at 00:15 and the casualty was transferred to hospital suffering with hypothermia. The team was stood down at 00:12.

38 ASC Log No. 955. The CRO was called by police control at 20:10 alerting the team to a vulnerable missing person in the vicinity of Chew Valley Lake. A 68 year old male had gone missing from the visitor centre, on the lake shore at 13:30. The Water and Search teams were called at 20:22. The search teams worked with the available police resources, including search dogs and police helicopter. The male was located at his home address at 22:45 and the team was stood down at 23:00.

37 ASC Log No. 516. The CRO was called by police control at 15:15 to alert the team to a climber who was in difficulties in Cheddar Gorge. The Technical Rescue team was called out, and discovered two climbers, stranded at about 300 feet above the road. A technical rescue was made, in the dark, and the climbers were returned, uninjured to a place of safety. The A&S SAR team was assisted by D&S FRS and AFRS (Line rescue). They assisted with lighting and vehicle logistics. The team was stood down at 20:48.

36 ASC Log No. 0578 At 14:16 the CRO was contacted by the crew of ‘Helimed 64’ the Bristol air ambulance, alerting the team to a fallen climber in Avon Gorge. The technical rescue team was put on standby. The team was not called by the police, and the climber sustained a broken wrist. The incident was dealt with swiftly by the HEMS crew (air ambulance), HART- USAR team, with attending officers and tactical support officers, AFRS line rescue team and support officers, and a double crewed GWAS ambulance. The police were also on scene. The team was stood down at 17:11.

35 ASC Log No. 1035. The Avon FRS control notified the CRO of an incident occurring on the Bristol end of the Clifton Bridge at 16:45. The A&S police and GWAS ambulance confirmed the callout. The incident involved a young male who was acting suspiciously on the structure of the bridge. The technical rescue team was deployed to the bottom of the bridge onto the Portway. The incident was successfully resolved and the team was stood down at 19:33.

34 ASC Log No 993. The CRO was called by South West Ambulance Control At about 17:15, asking for assistance in locating a female with extreme abdominal pains and bleeding somewhere in the Cheddar Gorge area. The CRO made an assumption, from the description that the female was on the High Rock side of the gorge. This turned out to be incorrect and the woman was actually on the National Trust side, not far from Lion Rock. The team had been put on standby the police helicopter (Q99) and Rescue 169, the RAF Seaking at Chivenor. In the event the air ambulance, landed and conveyed the woman to hospital. Communications in the gorge were very poor, and this hampered the efficiency of the rescue. The team was stood down at 18:25.

33 ASC Log No? Whilst driving home from the previous incident in Clifton the CRO was on the A38 near Felton at Bristol Airport. A vehicle a few cars in front, burst into flames, and the driver had to be removed to a place of safety very quickly. Other team members rendered assistance. The ambulance and fire services were called. The patient was transferred to the BRI with burns.

32 ASC Log No 1210 The CRO was called by the PolSA at 09:42, to ask for assistance with a search on the Clifton Downs for a male who had been missing since Friday. The search and technical teams were called to the Sea Walls area of the Downs. The search quickly produced a find, near the observatory, and the casualty was reported as being alive. The medical team was dispatched and ambulance was called. The patient was transferred to the BRI. The team was stood down at 13:50.

31 ASC Log No? Avon FRS control called the CRO at 16:37 to report a male reported to in difficulty on the cliffs below Circular Road, Avon Gorge, Bristol. The call was confirmed by ambulance control (EOC) and the police. The Bristol based CRO was dispatched to the scene, and confirmed that the male was a rock climber who was resting on a ledge. No further action was required.

30 ASC Log No 1161. The CRO was called by ambulance control (EOC Avon), requesting assistance with a patient carryout from Troopers Hill, St George in Bristol at 18:33. The air ambulance (Helimed 64) was in attendance but was unable to access the patient because of difficult terrain. The incident was resolved, and the team stood down at 19:28

29 ASC Log No 967. The CRO received a call in the first instance from the Avon FRS at 16:34. The police control room was informed and the Technical Rescue team was called to a despondent male acting suspiciously on the parapet of the Clifton Suspension Bridge. The incident was successfully resolved and the police stood the team down at 17:43. The AFRS passed the incident ‘stop’ at 18:00.

28  ASC Log No 779. The CRO was contacted by the duty PolSA to discuss an incident concerning a vulnerable missing male in the Leigh Woods area at 15:20. The search team was put on standby.  Because of the close proximity of many quarries and rock faces, the search team was called out with assistance from the Technical rescue team at 15:54.  Searching continued in the Leigh Woods and Ashton Court area until 22:30.  Nothing was found.

27 ASC Log No? The CRO was called by police control at 12:13 and asked to speak to the duty PolSA. The incident concerned a missing vulnerable male in the Farmbough/Paulton area of Somerset. The search team was put on standby. Following further discussions with the PolSA the and CID the male was located and the services of the team was not required. Stand down was at 13:38.

26 ASC Log 545. The CRO was contacted by ambulance control (EOC) at 11:20 requesting assistance with a job in Avon Gorge. The CRO contacted the police and alerted the teachnical rescue team that were exercising on the cliffs nearby. The police and ambulance described what may have been reported as a body on the cliffs at Black Rock Quarry off the Portway.  The incident was resolved and the team was stood down by phone, at 12:10.

ASC Log N/A The AFRS control room notified the CRO at 11:13  that their line rescue team was mobilising to a trapped dog in Chew Magna. No action was taken on behalf of the team.

25 ASC Log No’s 959 and 964. The AFRS control room alerted the CRO at 17:30 of an incident occurring on the circular road at Avon Gorge, Sea Walls. At 17:35 the police called the team to a despondent male acting suspiciously at the top of the cliffs. The technical rescue team was called-out. The incident was resolved, and the team was stood down at 17:53.

24 ASC Log No 1102. The team was put on standby at 11:50 by the police control room. The incident was to search for a missing vulnerable male in Bishop Sutton. The search team was called out at 12:53. The team searched land around Bishop Sutton and the water margins of Chew Valley Lake. The incident was resolved and the team was stood down at 17:18

23 26 & 27/05/10 ASC Log No 372. The police PolSA called the CRO at 18:00 to notify the team of a missing 62 year old female in the South Bristol area.. The Search team was put on standby and called out at 19:21.

The full team was called out at 19:39. A search was organised in the Bishopsworth and Withywood area of Bristol, extending out to Dundry Hill. The search was suspended at about midnight. It was resumed next morning with new evidence and the casualty was found at 17:15 on 27/05/10. The team was stood down after the casualty was transferred to hospital by ambulance.

22 ASC Log No 776. The police control room put the technical rescue team on standby at 16:02. A male was missing in the Clifton Downs/Gorge area of Bristol. The team was called out at 17:25, as the male had been located on a precarious part of the cliff. The male was returned to a safe place and returned to police custody. The team was stood down at 17:45.