Volunteers battled gale force winds and heavy rain to rescue a woman with a suspected broken leg from Dartmoor on Sunday (January 11).

Dartmoor Search and Rescue Ashburton was called to its first shout of 2026 at around 5pm. They were tasked with helping a female walker who had fallen on the upper slopes of Haytor Rocks and sustained a suspected lower leg fracture.

As it was dark, windy and raining heavily, the team of 17 volunteers was quickly mobilised.

Medics from BASICS Devon were also called and a volunteer doctor was first on scene.

The Dartmoor Search and Rescue unit from Ashburton initially deployed a small foot team to confirm the doctor and casualty’s location and provide shelter until the remainder of the volunteers arrived with more equipment.

Following medical assessment by the BASICS doctor the casualty was provided pain relief and her leg splinted. After some challenging off road driving the team land rover arrived at the site. The woman was then loaded into the team land rover and driven carefully back to the car park and waiting land ambulance.

The Dartmoor Search and Rescue Ashburton team was stood down at 6.30pm.

‘Although a relatively short callout, the darkness, gale force wind and heavy rain made this a challenging rescue,’ commented Dartmoor Search and Rescue Ashburton team leader Craig Scollick. ‘It is a testament to our volunteers and their training that they were able to perform so well in these conditions.’

The Dartmoor Search and Rescue team wishes the woman a speedy recovery.

The highly trained Dartmoor Search and Rescue volunteers are on call 24 hours a day seven days a week. The charity, which relies on donations to operate, responds to a wide range of incidents including missing person enquiries, steep ground rescue, swiftwater rescues and flooding.