Helicopter Incident

Back in August last year I was in position to see a helicopter land on Lenny Hill. I went along to ask what was happening and was told by a truck driver for SWT that one of their volunteers had had an accident and needed the air ambulance. This wasn't quite true. There is an account of the incident in the current edition of Dore to Door which tells a different story.



Apparently two women had set out on a walk and on the way up the bridleway from the stepping stones one had slipped on the loose stones and broken a leg. This meant a helicopter rescue and then some time in hospital. The person writing the account is the woman who had been walking with the casualty. She thanks SWT people who had been there and gave some assistance. (Incidentally the landing place was Lenny Hill, not Bole Hill as stated in the article.)



There is an aspect to this which is not pointed out. That stretch of bridleway was repaired very badly by contractors for SWT two years previously leading to complaints about the poor standard, the use of brick rubble, and the mess left behind. Following this, SWT came back and tried to do the job again but once again ineffectively leading to erosion and the track being covered with dangerous loose brick rubble. After these two attempts at repair the area around the bench was left appallingly despoiled by vehicle tracks and piles of rubble. It is only just beginning to recover. The writer of the article in Dore to Door says thankfully that SWT have told her they will look to making the track safe. I can't wait.



It would be interesting to know how much public money was spent on these 'repairs' and what sort of sum would have been involved in any insurance claim if it had gone ahead.