CRAVEN'S two mountain rescue teams have joined forces to produce a set of short safety videos aimed at people visiting the Dales.

Grassington based Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association (UWFRA) and Clapham-based Cave Rescue Organisation (CRO) got together with Mosaic Outdoors, which aims to connect diverse communities with the outdoors, to produce the videos.

Filmed at Malham Cove and Ribblehead, the films include key safety tips. They explain what to do if you need help, and what visitors should wear - including being prepared for bad weather, even if it starts out fine and dry, and are recorded in English, as well as in Hindi, Urdu and Mandarin.

The safety tips apply to everyone going out and about in the Dales, including on foot, bike, horseback, or any other way, say the teams.

The films reassure people that help if needed will be provided by mountain rescue. Visitors need to make sure they have their mobile phones on them, that they are fully charged, and ideally, should also have a power pack. If people are in a group, one should have their phone turned off, to make sure it remains fully charged.

If people need to make an emergency call, they may have to go to a high place to get reception, then they need to call 999, ask to be put through to police and say they need mountain rescue. They then need to wait 'stay calm and warm' and wait for the call from mountain rescue who will say what to do.

"The rescue team are here for everyone, they are very good at their job and will get you sorted," says one person on the films.

Another says: "The Dales are here for everyone to enjoy. Just stay safe and make sure you are ready and properly equipped. "

One of the films has a walker going through what he has in his backpack, including a first aid kit, a 'most important' map, compass and plenty of water.

Rae Lonsdale, one of the Cave Rescue Organisation's controllers, said: "As summer holidays start and more people visit the Dales, we wanted to get out our safety messages. Questions to ask yourself: Do I have the right gear? Do I know what the weather will be? Do I have the knowledge and skills I need?"

Sara Spillett, an Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association director, added: ‘Our rescue teams are available for everyone who needs us. We wanted to show the reality of people who visit the Dales, so the videos are presented by people from diverse communities. The videos explain what to carry with you and how to ask the police to call us out."

Funding for the videos has come from a grant from the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner’s Zoe Metcalfe's Community Fund.

Mohammed Dhalech from Mosaic Outdoors added: ‘This is the first time we have worked with CRO and UWFRA and we have really enjoyed it. As well as being good fun, visiting the Dales improves everyone’s quality of life, health, as well as having environmental and educational benefits."

Mountain Rescue England and Wales tweeted: "Brilliant initiative from @uwfra @CaveRescueOrg and @MosaicOutdoors - clear messages in languages to reach new visitors to #YDNPA and beyond."

Both UWFRA and CRO undertake mountain, cave and water rescue. Both teams are made up of unpaid volunteers and both teams carry out search and rescue services free of charge and without direct government funding. So far this year, the teams have together been called out more than 90 times to help both people and animals.

In the last couple of weeks, typical call-outs have included two collapsed or injured DofE participants, people with ankle injuries, Yorkshire Three Peaks walkers who have lost their way, and visitors to Brimham Rocks who have got stuck.

A spokesperson for CRO added: "The charities are also keen to raise awareness of the videos among people from communities across the North of England, where most of our visitors come from, so if you use Facebook, please go to our Facebook page @CaveRescueOrganisation and share the item with your own social networks. If you do, thank you very much and ‘stay safe’."

Each of the 10 videos are under two minutes long and are available on YouTube at: https://tinyurl.com/2du5suer