EMERGENCY volunteer team members had their bank holiday interrupted when their help was needed on two occasions.

At 2.50pm on Easter Monday, Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team was contacted by the Yorkshire Ambulance Service control room and asked to assist with the rescue of a man who had fallen from an off-road trail bike and injured his leg near Keld.

The team was quickly on the scene, joining an ambulance crew and paramedics. The Great North Air Ambulance was also tasked and attended.

Swaledale team volunteers helped secure and transport the injured rider to the waiting air ambulance, which then took him to James Cook University Hospital.

A team spokesman said: “We wish our casualty a speedy recovery.”

Earlier, just after midnight Good Friday, the Swaledale team were turned out by North Yorkshire Police control room and asked to assist with a search for a missing person in the Richmond area.

As the first team members were arriving at the last-known location and the back-up team vehicles were leaving the depot at Catterick Garrison, the missing person was located safe and well.

The team is trying to raised £80,000 to fund a new incident command vehicle and replace ageing and unreliable equipment.

Its crowdfunding page has now closed as members believe they can raise the full amount. With £20,000 donated so far via the crowdfunding page, other contributions give a grand total of £28,000.

Partly due to the publicity surrounding the appeal, the team has submitted four grant applications that could potentially help raise a further lump sum.

Via the team website, a spokesman said: “We remain confident about our ability to deliver this project and purchase our much-needed incident command vehicle.

“We will also continue the fundraising via other means. Several companies have kindly donated items for prize draws and auctions.

“Check out our Facebook page for the opportunity to win some fabulous prizes.

“Finally, thanks once again for all your support – we couldn't play our vital role without you.”