‘Thank You’ visit from a casualty

Saturday 2nd September 2023

We had a very welcome visit from Martyn Clark who we rescued in July 2022 as part of a multi-agency response. He had fallen approximately 200-feet down a steep embankment into the River Esk south of Lealholm (between Danby and Egton Bridge), coming to rest partly in the water.

Martyn visited our Base to say a personal ‘thank you’ to six of the many Cleveland MRT members who had been involved in the rescue. Accompanying him was his dog ’Suki’ who had played such a prominent role by alerting some passing walkers after Martyn had been laid, seriously injured, at the bottom of the embankment for around 33-hours before being discovered.

It was fascinating to listen to him as he recounted the frightening experience and the sensations he felt ‘on the way down’. Having now largely recovered from his injuries he felt he was back to about 80% of his fitness prior to his fall. It was clear that he had always enjoyed an active and varied life and was continuing to get out and about. He is currently on a long-weekend in the North-East and was making arrangements to also see and thank the paramedics and helicopter crews who were involved in the rescue.

Martyn had previously made a donation to the Team which we were able to personally thank him for and he also brought along a range of ‘goodies’ to help stock up our refreshments, as used on call-outs and training. So that was very kind of him and much appreciated. Thanks again to Martyn and Suki for coming to visit us; it was great to see him looking a lot better than when we last met!

Earlier this summer, Martyn’s rescue was featured on the BBC’s ‘Close Calls on Camera’ programme hosted by Nick Knowles. The episode is still available to watch on iPlayer (Series 11, Episode 6). Click here (opens to external site).

To see the original call-out report on this website click here.