A voluntary rescue team has been awarded a generous grant to purchase new equipment and harnesses.

Oldham Mountain Rescue Team (OMRT), a voluntary organisation which saves lives in mountain areas, is funded entirely by donations to keep its 24/7 search and rescue service running with around £45,000 needed a year to keep it going.

The rescue team has more than 50 volunteers who provide a professional rescue service all year round, attending roughly around 40 callouts a year.

Get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox by signing up to The Oldham Times’ morning and evening newsletters as well as our breaking news alerts 

Formed in 1964, OMRT is celebrating its 60 years of service this year and stands as one of 53 volunteer mountain rescue teams providing search and rescue services to help people in difficulties in the wild and remote places of England and Wales.

Oldham Mountain Rescue Team covers a substantial area, from the northern end of the Peak District National Park to the rural areas of Greater Manchester.

The Oldham Times: The donation means the volunteers can purchase new harnesses The donation means the volunteers can purchase new harnesses (Image: Eastern Area Freemasons)

It has strong links with all emergency services such as Greater Manchester Police, North West Ambulance Service, fire services and the coast guard.

Last year, the rescue team attended 37 incidents, which included 42 casualties, and took 969 hours.

It also supports police when looking for missing people and searching riverbanks and floodwaters.

It requires a minimum of 20 volunteers for any emergency callup, though the scale of the emergency situation may require more volunteers to attend.

In March this year, the team received a £511.43 grant from the ELM, sought by members of the Langley Lodge 3989 and with the help of Eastern Area Assistant Charity Steward, Russ Perks, to purchase three full body harnesses.

Members from the Langley Lodge 3989 along with Russ and the Eastern Area Communications Officer, Lee Reilly, visited the rescue service headquarters in Greenfield where they presented members of the team with a cheque.

The members were given a tour of the building and a wonderful talk on how the Oldham Mountain Rescue was first started and how it has grown over the years. 

Lizzy Partington of the rescue team explained about the training that they do on a weekly basis and how each member has a different speciality, such as medical, abseiling and driving. 

Lizzy also explained the text service for emergency call-outs and explained the procedure used in communicating with the police and emergency service when out on the hills.

The volunteer then explained how grateful she was to all the members of Langley Lodge 3989 and the ELMC for their kind and wonderful donation which enabled them to purchase three full-body harnesses.

The harnesses improve safety for team members which will allow safer evacuation of casualties from steep mountains or cliffside areas. 

Russ added: "A wonderful visit was had by all who attended, and it really opened your eyes to the amazing work, that all the volunteers of the rescue team do to help save lives." 

If you have a story, I cover all things Oldham from food reviews and local business news to music and events, pubs, education, crime, property, health, community concerns and much more. Please email me at Olivia.bridge@newsquest.co.uk or send me a message on Twitter @Livbridge with your news.