Teenagers trapped by rising river are plucked to safety

FOUR youngsters were rescued over the weekend after becoming trapped by rising waters in the upper dale.

The 18-year-olds had ventured out to Low Force on Friday night to camp on a small island on the River Tees.

But heavy downpours overnight saw the river swell and cut off their means of escape on Saturday morning.

Parents of the two-men and two women, from Darlington, responded to their pleas for help and called in the fire service at 4.02pm.

Crews from Middleton-in-Teesdale, Stanhope and Bishop Auckland responded alongside a Swift Water Rescue Team who conducted the rescue.

An ambulance was on standby but was not required with all four teenagers helped out of danger by 5.30pm without injury.

The rescue comes a year after the death of teenager Curtis Atherton who was swept under High Force and two years after 36-year-old Wadud Abdul died while swimming at Low Force.

The manager of the Kingsway Centre in Middleton-in-Teesdale, Rob Atkinson, works on the stretch and warned how hazardous moving water can be.

“Without proper supervision, equipment and buoyancy aids any lake or river can be dangerous and you can very rarely see what’s under the surface,” he said. “The river often runs much faster underneath the surface and without proper instruction, equipment and knowledge of the water, I think it’s dangerous.” He added: “It’s often not the bits at big waterfalls that are most dangerous but the innocent looking stretches that can hold you just under the surface. Anywhere there is moving water can be deadly – it only takes half a metre of water with enough force to hold you under.”

While Mr Atkinson said the group of teenagers shouldn’t have been there in the first place, he was pleased with their approach once trouble arose. He added: “They have done the right thing in ringing their parents who then rang for the fire service – the pictures show it’s only a five metre distance from the island and someone might think they could make it across there.

“They would have definitely been swept away if they did so – it offers a good lesson not to take risks in that situation.”

He also urged people to call the professionals in if they were in danger. Mr Atkinson added: “Call for help – that’s what they’re there for and that’s what they’re trained for. You see comments on social media about wasting money and crews having to risk their lives but that’s what they do and they can put their skills to use.” For more information about water safety and to read about the campaign on cold water shock, go to ddfire.gov.uk/water-safety