Incident report

Buxton Mountain Rescue Team called by North West Ambulance Service to an incident at Lud’s Church, a natural rock feature at Back Forest near Gradbach.

On arrival the team located an 8 year old boy from Warrington, Cheshire.  The youth had been walking with his family around the top of Luds Church when he fell approximately 10 metres through the undergrowth into the chasm.  The boy sustained several injuries after hitting the rock face on the way down.  Lud’s Church is a deep chasm on the forest floor with sheer cliff walls either side, a well known local landmark and reputably the home of the Green Knight in times past.

He was treated on site by North West Ambulance Service paramedics for head, facial, back and leg injuries.  He was then placed onto a specialist rescue stretcher and carried for over a kilometre by team members to a waiting air ambulance at the Peter Watson Scout Camp.  He was loaded into the helicopter and flown to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire for further treatment.

Nine members of Derby MRT also assisted at this incident.