An elderly bell ringer at All Saints Church in Brailsford, Derbyshire, UK, was injured while performing her duties on Sunday. She was caught in the rope and lifted off the floor, and then she landed hard, injuring her hip and arm. The spiral stairs leading to the 11th-century bell tower are too narrow for an ambulance crew to carry out the injured woman. So they called out the experts: the Derby Mountain Rescue Team, composed of unpaid volunteer mountain climbers trained in rescue operations. A spokesman for the team said,
"A local team member was first on scene and provided medical attention whilst other team members arrived to evacuate the casualty.
"She was placed in a vacuum mattress - effectively an all-body splint - and carried down the stairs to be handed over to an EMAS ambulance crew.
"As we say these days, mountain rescue - more than just mountains."
BBC News has a video report. -via Arbroath
(Image credit: Clive Woolliscroft)