Five-hour rescue operation finds casualty with ‘fractured skull’ at old …

A five-hour rescue operation at a disused quarry earmarked to be turned into a holiday park has found a man with 'potentially serious injuries'. One StokeonTrentLive reader reports that the casualty suffered a 'fractured skull' during the incident at Moneystone Quarry.

Details of the rescue operation - from 8.34pm on Wednesday, November 1 - have just surfaced. It comes as site owner Laver Leisure has had its holiday park plans rejected.

West Midlands Ambulance Service^[1] sent two ambulances, three paramedic officers, and its hazardous area response team to the site, off Eaves Lane, near Whiston.

READ: Tourism blow as giant holiday park with 250 lodges near Alton Towers rejected - The Center Parcs-style attraction would have pumped an extra £1m-a-year into local shops, pubs and restaurants^[2]

READ: First look at North Staffordshire's new resort with indoor play zone, pool and 250 lodges - Moneystone Park will boast a water sports centre, restaurant, indoor climbing wall and cinema room^[3]

An ambulance service spokesman said: "We were called to an incident at a disused quarry. Due to the treacherous nature of the ground conditions, challenging weather conditions and darkness, a police helicopter, drones and hand-held thermal imaging devices were deployed in an effort to find the man.

"An extensive search was carried out, but it wasn’t until just after midnight that the patient was found, some distance from where he had initially been reported to be. A detailed extrication plan had to be formed due to the risks to the patient and responders at the scene. Working with mountain rescue and fire colleagues, a man was brought to safety and treated by ambulance staff for potentially serious injuries before being conveyed to the Royal Stoke University Hospital^[4] for further assessment."

Derby Mountain Rescue Team was drafted in to the rescue operation just after 10pm. It followed reports of a 'fallen male'. The rescue operation came to an end at 1.30am.

Its spokesman said: "The team put together a search plan and searched the quarry which was heavily overgrown with dense undergrowth. During the search the team found some personal items on the ground and focused searching in that area when they heard faint moans nearby. The casualty was located around 20 metres away and assessed by team members. He was completely wet through from the rain, severely hypothermic, and barely conscious. He was wrapped in a vapour barrier and warm layers and evacuated by team stretcher back up the steep slope."

Staffordshire Police^[5] were the first of the emergency services to be alerted to the incident.

A police spokesman said: "We received a report of a man in distress at Moneystone Quarry. A man was heard shouting for help from inside the quarry.

"The terrain made it difficult for emergency services at the scene. The man was spoken to from a safe distance and appeared to be moving around in the undergrowth.

"We called in support from our colleagues at National Police Air Service who were able to find the man using thermal imaging cameras. He was safely lifted to safety and left in the care of ambulance crews."

Staffordshire County Council and Staffordshire Moorlands District Council have stressed that health and safety at the site is the responsibility of the landowner. The quarry has not been operational since 2011.

Laver Leisure has owned the site for 13 years.

It said: “We would like to thank the emergency services for their efforts and wish the person involved a full recovery. This is the first incident of this kind in our 13 years of ownership and is very surprising given the physical barriers and signage we maintain. It also appears to have taken place in an area of the site where we have planted hundreds of trees as part of the restoration plan. The trees act as a further barrier to prevent any accidental falls. The former Moneystone Quarry is private land and we have no information about why the individual was on the site at this time of night.”

If you're on the lookout for local news, we have you covered with our FREE email newsletter - sign up in the box at the top of this story or click here^[6].

References

1. ^{^} West Midlands Ambulance Service (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
2. ^{^} Tourism blow as giant holiday park with 250 lodges near Alton Towers rejected (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
3. ^{^} First look at North Staffordshire's new resort with indoor play zone, pool and 250 lodges (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
4. ^{^} Royal Stoke University Hospital (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
5. ^{^} Staffordshire Police (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
6. ^{^} or click here (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)