Rescuers during the exercise. Photo: Buxton MRT

More than 100 rescue team volunteers took part in a major simulated exercise in the Peak District at the weekend.

Buxton Mountain Rescue Team, which organised the event, also successfully tested its newly established drone team.

The team said the use of a drone, currently on loan to the rescuers, was likely to increase in the future.

During the search exercise, the rescuers also treated a real-life casualty who suffered suspected collarbone injuries.

Staffordshire Police advisers joined members of five different rescue teams at the site around Blackshaw Moor, north-east of Leek.

Buxton MRT deputy team leader Rob Stordy said: “The large-scale search exercise we organised was an enormous success.

“Despite some very challenging scenarios being thrown in to keep our searchers on their toes, they still managed to locate, treat and recover the ‘missing child’ with an impressive degree of speed.

“Today was also the first real test for our new drone team, the team used the drone that’s on loan to us very effectively. We were able to view the drone footage inside our main control point to assist with planning and it was, in fact, our new drone team that managed to locate the ‘missing child’ first.

“This has further confirmed our view that drones are likely to play an essential role in mountain rescue in the future, so we will be fundraising for this project now harder than ever.”

The team has so far raised three-quarters of its £8,000 target to pay for the drone.

Mr Stordy said: “In the midst of what was a complex exercise our joint teams also managed to go to the aid of an injured trials biker, who was treated for a suspected collarbone injury. There’s never a good time to break your collarbone, but if you must do, there’s no better way to do it than when there are 100 rescuers already in the area.

“All teams worked very well together, and we are very confident that should we be called upon to deal with any sort of major incident, including high risk missing children that we would be able to provide an extremely effective joint response.”

Derby Mountain Rescue Team, Cheshire Search and Rescue, Staffordshire Search and Rescue Team, Watersafe UK Search and Rescue Team and Staffordshire Police also took part in the exercise.