Dad and child break legs in sledging smash
Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue team travelling to help the father and daughter who both suffered broken legs in a sledge accident in Selkirk
A FATHER and daughter both suffered broken legs in a sledging smash at the weekend.
The pair, aged 30 and seven, collided with a park bench at the bottom of Selkirk Golf Club’s sixth hole at around 2pm last Saturday.
It is believed the sledge carrying the family members, who are originally from Selkirk, had veered off course, resulting in the frightening crash.
Due to the steep slope, an ambulance crew and police officers called in Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Team to assist.
The Selkirk-based volunteer group used MacInnes stretchers – specially designed for such gradients – to get the father and his child off the hill, and they were taken to Borders General Hospital.
Despite the incident, many youngsters continued to use the slope for sledging and snowboarding over the weekend as the Borders was hit by a heavy deluge of snow.
Earlier in the day, a team of five TVMRT members rushed to assist a search for a group of competitors from The Spine Race, a 268-mile, non-stop winter mountain marathon which runs the length of the Pennine Way. The search was focused on a remote area south of Kirk Yetholm, but when TVMRT arrived, Border Search and Rescue Unit had tracked down the runners on a nearby hill and managed to get them to safety. Full story, page 17.
In a busy day for the team, TVMRT members were also on the scene for the inaugural Feel the Burns race around Selkirk on Saturday.
The event saw 137 runners tackle the snowy 13.7-mile course which takes in Peat Law, Three Brethren, Brown Knowe and Foulshiel Hill.
For their assistance, organisers handed over a donation of around £1,000 to the group.
Steve Penny, team leader of TVMRT, said: “This was a busy day for the team and fortunately we were in a position to respond very quickly to both incidents.
“We are extremely grateful to all those who took part in the Feel the Burns event and raised such a tremendous amount for the team and would like to thank, in particular, the organisers.”
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Weather for Galashiels
Saturday 18 May 2013
Today
Heavy rain
Temperature: 8 C to 10 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 8 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North east
