Mountain rescue winners 2008

GOODYEAR CROWNS TEAM OF THE YEAR!

Edale Mountain Rescue Team has been crowned Team of the Year - an accolade which will see them receive a £2000 donation to be spent on safety equipment.

As official safety partners of Mountain Rescue England & Wales, Goodyear launched the campaign to highlight the fantastic work done by search and rescue teams across the country. Since launching the award, you have been voting in your droves for who you wanted to see receive the additional donation.

Neil Chapman, spokesman for Edale said: "We're delighted to have received this donation, and can't thank Goodyear enough.

"Like all Mountain Rescue teams, our members participate voluntarily. Moreover, we do not receive Government funding, therefore donations such as this from Goodyear are vital to maintain our high standards".

The Team is currently replacing one of its aging Land Rover ambulances at a total cost of almost £40,000. The prize money will therefore be used to purchase new equipment, including a satellite phone, for the vehicle.

Anna Stanley, communications specialist at Goodyear commented: "Goodyear takes safety extremely seriously, and we're very pleased to have been able to make this donation to help ensure the quality of the service that Edale provides.

"We're aware that all Mountain Rescue teams do a fantastic job and provide a vital service in their own areas. By running this competition, we've successfully been able to raise awareness of teams locally which will hopefully benefit their fundraising efforts in 2009".

As part of the partnership with Mountain Rescue, Goodyear has pledged to support the roll out of GPS navigational equipment for all teams. The company has also made sets of its Wrangler MTR tyres available to teams for use on their rescue vehicles, to ensure that safety is not compromised.

Neil added: "We're extremely grateful to Goodyear for this donation which will undoubtedly help us to improve the service we provide to people across our operational area which includes North East Derbyshire and Sheffield".

Edale Mountain Rescue

Areas covered: Edale Mountain Rescue Team includes all the major climbing edges on the Western border of the City of Sheffield as well as the remote plateaux of both Kinder Scout and the Upper Derwent Valley.

Website: www.edalemountainrescue.co.uk

About the team: On the 6th October 2007, the Team was presented with the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service for their providing an outstanding service. More recently (26th August 2008), the Deputy Chief Constable of South Yorkshire officially commended the Team for its services to the people of Sheffield during the flooding disaster of June 2007.

Why they do what they do: The satisfaction that job has been done well and suffering alleviated.