Rescuers in action in Borrowdale during filming

Mountain rescuers are set to raise their profile with the release of a film showing the work of volunteer team members.

The six-minute video was shot across various locations in England and Wales and aims to show the wider world what mountain rescue entails.

The drama, using real search and rescue volunteers, was produced and co-directed by Dave Freeborn, a film-maker who happens also to be a member and former team leader of one of the country’s busiest teams, Patterdale, which covers Helvellyn.

Mr Freeborn, a member of the Institute of Videographers, put together the filming schedule and the network of partners to help capture the story.

He said: “We filmed at more than 12 different locations with about ten different mountain rescue teams and partners.

“The schedule included a huge amount of negotiation and liaison with what seemed like hundreds of people through the seasons during 2014. There was filming from a UAV – or drone – in Borrowdale in the Lake District, editing in underground rescue footage from the Mendips in Somerset, creating music and the voiceover and, in all, about 20 days of filming in all weathers – all to create just six minutes of dramatic footage.”

Mountain Rescue England and Wales chairman Mike France said: “There’s been a demand for more images and film about mountain rescue for quite a while and the growth in social media means that we should be able to spread the word about this film to thousands of people and make a really positive impact.

With links, connections and sharing online, we are offering people, already active supporters or not, a great chance to find out more about what we do and how we work.”

Former MREW chairman, David Allan was an early advocate of a national film, partly arising from discussions with Bafta reps at Princes’ Charities Forum meetings in London.

MREW said taking the germ of an idea and creating a useful communication tool has taken many months of planning and development but the completed film, with specially composed music and a voiceover in both English and Welsh language versions, is now ready for launch just ahead of the Easter weekend.

A drone captures action for the video

Music for the soundtrack was composed specially for the film by Miles Hancock and the voiceover has been done by Matthew Gravelle, an actor who recently starred in Broadchurch on ITV.

Judy Whiteside, editor of Mountain Rescue magazine, who took the lead role on the project, said: “We knew that we needed to keep to a couple of strong but simple messages.

“We wanted to show real rescuers, reacting to a wide range of realistic situations and we wanted to emphasise that they are all volunteers by showing them being called away from work, family commitments and sleep.

“That sounds quite simple but we also wanted to create something that people would want to watch and share and something that would have a fundraising as well as an educational impact.”

The finished Mountain Rescue Film 15 can also be seen online from noon today.

Anyone wanting to donate to Mountain Rescue England and Wales can make a text donation by texting RESQ41, followed by the donation amount of the donation, to 70070. Alternatively, a justgiving page can be used to make a donation.