ALMOST 30 rescue volunteers and emergency service personnel were involved in the rescue of a pilot whose glider crashed in the Cheviot hills at the weekend.

The aircraft crashed on the south east side of The Cheviot–the highest summit in the Northumberland hills close to the Scottish border– on Sunday afternoon.

At 2.20pm, a multi agency response was launched but progress was hampered by snow storms and low clouds which meant the Great North Air Ambulance was unable to land near the crash site.

Northumberland National Park and North of Tyne Mountain Rescue Teams members were deployed onto the hill within 40 minutes to try locate the crashed glider as soon as possible.

Rescue volunteers, who had with a stretcher, vacuum mattress and winter casualty bag, joined the medical team from GNAAS and two Northumberland Fire & Rescue Service personnel with lightweight cutting equipment onboard the Coastguard search and rescue helicopter from Prestwick and were airlifted to Scald Hill.

From there they had to hike to the crash site.

By the time they reached the scene, the first Mountain Rescue team deployed had located the crashed glider.

Further Mountain Rescue hill parties were deployed with technical rope rescue kit to assist with lowering the pilot by stretcher to below the cloud base.

Following an assessment of the pilot by air ambulance medics, he was transferred to the Bell stretcher and had to be lowered 400m in darkness down the side of The Cheviot to a location from which the Coastguard helicopter was able to land and take him to hospital.

Northumbria Mountain Rescue Service team leader Iain Nixon said: "The Teams would like to pay particular thanks to the two walkers who went to the aid of the pilot and remained with him until Mountain Rescue personnel arrived on scene. They did an exceptional job of keeping the pilot calm and provided him with additional clothing.

"We would also like to thank the game keeper who transported two Team members up onto the hill on his quad bike.

"The incident involved 29 members for eight hours."