TWO members of the Lake District Mountain Rescue teams have both reached significant milestones in their service.

Harry Ashcroft and John Leadbetter have respectively reached 40 and 25 years of service, working with the Duddon & Furness Mountain Rescue Team, Langdale & Ambleside MRT and Kendal MRT.

John Leadbetter first joined the Furness Mountain Rescue Team in 1992 and then undertook years training.

Mr Leadbetter said: “It is quite humbling to be recognised for my services at the same time as Harry, who has been supporting the Mountain Rescue Teams for so many years.

“It is also so amazing to be a part of a team, a brotherhood of people who you can always trust to be there and support you.

“One of my fondest memories is when we were tasked to rescue three people and a dog up Coniston with winds of 60-70 mph and a storm coming in.

“The family were saved and I was alone with my dog Skye still up Coniston and I remember distinctly the moment when I saw the lights of the team coming up and the feeling of knowing there were there for us - something I will never forget.”

Speaking of Mr Ashcroft, Mike Margeson, previous team leader of Furness Mountain Rescue, said: “Harry was the chairman of the Furness team at a time when we were really developing and moving forward - it was a really exciting time when he was chairman.

When asked about a particular rescue that he remembers Harry being a part of, Mr Margeson said: “There was a time when we were called to support Langdale MRT to help a family that had headed up Crinkle Crags and the mother had broken her leg.

“With a worsening forecast, the conditions became so bad that two helicopter attempts failed, seizing up from the cold.

“The third attempt was successful with a helicopter coming down from Glasgow, but it wasn’t able to reach them until 6:30 in the morning.

“This was certainly a stand out rescue during Harry’s time as Furness MRT chairman.”

For their services, both Harry and John were awarded with their certificates by Kendal MRT President Steve Kelly.