FUNDING for five tracking devices has been donated to Penrith mountain rescue team as a result of a collection in memory of Durham University student Josef Bulman, formerly of Penrith, following his tragic death in August while on a camping holiday in the area.

The body of 20-year-old Josef (right) was found in Ullswater by police divers following an extensive search of the lake shore and adjacent land the previous day.

The search was co-ordinated by Penrith mountain rescue team and also involved members of the Patterdale team, search dogs and a search and rescue helicopter from RAF Boulmer.

Josef’s father, Andrew Bulman, said: “I would like to say thank-you to all the emergency and rescue services that responded so quickly and helped to find Josef. Thank-you also to those who donated money that will be put to good use improving the safety and efficiency of members of Penrith mountain rescue team.

“Josef would like to have known that he has helped to increase the chances of another life being saved as a result of his own tragic death.”

The money will pay for five GPS microphones, at a cost of £770.

The majority of searches involving mountain rescue teams take place on the fells. and the safety of search teams is an ever-present concern. To reduce risk, Cumbria Constabulary provides members of the Lake District Search and Mountain Rescue Association (LDSAMRA) with radios, operating on allocated frequencies, to allow communication between search parties on the fell and search management at the team’s base or a forward command centre.

When conducting a search it is important for managers to know the physical location of teams. However, until recently the only means of checking was for the search managers to ask the respective search teams to provide this information. This meant that the search had to stop while the map was checked and a grid reference taken, or a hand-held geographic positioning system (GPS – a ‘sat nav’ for walkers) consulted. Not only did this use valuable time, but it was challenging to carry out at night or in foul weather.

To address this issue a signal tracking device that uses GPS technology, and is small enough to fit inside a microphone has been developed.

In addition, a member of a Lake District mountain rescue team has developed some software that, using the Internet, allows tracking of the location on computer-based digital maps.

Knowing the route and location of search teams is an aid to planning the next stage of the search or redeploying team members in the event of a “find”, and has the added benefit of accurately positioning those on the fell in the event that they need assistance in a “whiteout” or hill fog. With this device the search team can be continuously monitored and do not need to stop to report back on location.