Social media blamed for record rise in mountain rescue call-outs
Social media and poor-quality navigation apps have been blamed for a record number of call-outs for mountain rescue services, a study suggests.
Last year was the first time rescue teams in England and Wales were called out every day of the year.
Whereas in pre-pandemic times the most rescued age group was 50-54, today it is the 18- 24-year-olds who are most likely to run into difficulties, partly driven by the craze for selfies at some of the UK's most remote beauty spots.
Overall, data from Mountain Rescue England and Wales (MREW) and visualised by Ordnance Survey revealed a 24 per cent rise in the number of rescues over the last five years – reaching almost 4,000.
The service has attributed the change to a growth in the popularity of honeypot locations promoted and shared on social media, as well as younger audiences relying on mobile phone apps that lack the accurate detail required to navigate safely in remote areas.
Mike Park, the MREW chief executive, said: 'To say that there wasn't a single day in 2024 without a call-out shows one aspect of how busy mountain rescue teams have been.
'But it's only part of the story. The busiest teams are often seeing multiple call-outs running in parallel with all the demands that puts on unpaid volunteers, their employers, friends and families.'
Referencing the change in demographics, Mr Park said: 'It's hard for us to give a definitive reason for the age group change.
'But we know from incident reports that more and more people are tempted into risky locations by Instagram posts and the navigation apps being used aren't always suitable for an outdoor environment.
'Add to that a tendency to follow popular routes online without knowing the hazards and context, and it's not surprising that those likely to be relying most on their phones are the ones getting into difficulties.'
The locations with the largest increase in call-outs between 2019 and 2024 were Snowdonia in North Wales, the Lake District and Peak District. The busiest teams were in Llanberis and Ogwen Valley in the Snowdonia National Park.
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