Dave Freeborn, who has been appointed honorary president of Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team

Mountain rescuers have appointed one of their long-serving members as an honorary president.

Dave Freeborn is only the second person to receive Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team’s accolade.

Team leader Mike Blakey said: “We’ve only ever had one person in this role in the past, and that was our founder, Dr James Ogilvie.

“Dave was completely taken aback by the announcement, which is typical of his modest views of all he’s done for the team over the 35 years that he’s been a member. We wanted to mark and honour his contribution and, as I think he suspects, keep him as involved as possible for many years to come.”

The announcement was made at the team’s annual meeting.

Mr Freeborn joined the team in 1981, becoming team leader in 1990 and serving almost 17 years in that role before stepping down in March 2008. He was recognised in the 2010 New Year’s Honours List with an MBE for services to Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team and continues to be an active member of one of the busiest teams in the country, whose patch includes Helvellyn.

He said: “It is a great honour to be appointed to this role and to be associated with Dr Ogilvie.

“My wife, Jacquie, is also very much involved with the team as base controller on many incidents and as chair of the trustees for the Patterdale MR Association charity so we have lots of links and will be very much part of this team into the future.”