MOUNTAIN rescue teams who patrol Darwen’s moors are improving the training of dogs for a variety of operations.

Bolton Mountain Rescue team members are extending the training of search and rescue dogs and the training of their dog handlers.

The team are using dogs to find scent trails of missing people and recover people from water.

Team member Steve Nelson, a mountain rescue trai dog handler, his specialist trailing dog Boris, and colleague Elaine Gilliland journeyed to the Trough of Bowland at Smelt Mill, Dunsop Bridge, to Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue’s headquarters for training this weekend.

As well as training dogs to track people in need of rescue, dogs and members are also being trained how to recover victims of drownings.

Bolton MRT team member Dave Marsh is training his dogs Sasha and Quinn to find people who have drowned.

Dave has already completed a special course in Northern Ireland before taking on further training at the Tollymore Outdoor Centre near Newcastle.

This week his colleague. Mike Dermody, joined in the dog-handling training on the waters of Pennington Flash at Leigh, utilising the group’s 3.5metre inflatable search and rescue boat.