A TRAGEDY in which two young men lost their lives during a church outing to the countryside- and led to the formation of a mountain rescue team- will be remembered this weekend.

In March 1968 a group from St John's Church Youth Club, in Shildon, travelled to the North Pennines for a walk.

Not long after they set off to hike from Dufton to Middleton-in-Teesdale, the weather took a dramatic turn for the worse and they found themselves on the remote fells in heavy rain, freezing fog and snow.

Sadly two of the party died.

Kenneth Brown, 23, was swept away in a flooded stream and 18-year-old David Vaughan died of hypothermia.

As a result, a few months later the Upper Teesdale & Weardale Fell Rescue Association was founded and later became Teesdale & Weardale Search & Mountain Rescue Team.

To mark the 50th anniversary of the tragedy and its legacy- a team of volunteers who have saved many lives- a service will be held at St John's Church, Shildon, at 2pm on Saturday.

The Team will then unveil a plaque at its base The Chris Scott Mountain Search and Rescue Centre, in Durham.

Team leader Steve Owers said: "Anyone with a connection to the Team, past or present, or family and friends of Kenneth and David are very welcome to join us at one or both events."

Canon David Tomlinson, of St John's Church, said the tight-knit community still talks about the tragedy and some remember the day they heard about it. It had happened on a Saturday and the next day Rev Vince Ashwin, himself saved from the walk, broke the news to a packed church.

"It was Mothering Sunday which further compounded the awfulness, people still talk about the awful atmosphere," said Rev Tomlinson.

"For a small community to lose two young men in a tragic accident was horrendous, you carry an incident like that with you for the rest of your lives.

"There will be people at Saturday's service remembering the tragedy, but there will also be a celebratory element to give thanks for the search and mountain rescue team which grew out of it.

"Whilst it does nothing to ease the pain of those who experienced loss, it has brought something positive out of something so awful."