Border Tweed Valley

An AED was used for the first time (Saturday 28th May) by the Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Team, to help save the life of a man who was taking part in a Mountain Bike Event after he suffered a heart attack.

He was attended to by an event marshal, members of Tweed Valley Bike Patrol and other competitors who happened to be medically trained after becoming seriously unwell.

Basic Life Support and CPR was given, but within 4 minutes, an AED was used from one of the Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Land Rover ambulances.

TVMRT were helped by the British Heart Foundation - Scotland in November 2012, to get 2 Automated External Defibrillators (AED) for their Land Rover Ambulances.

The man was then taken by air to the Royal Infirmary Edinburgh where he is said to be doing well.

What is an AED?

An Automated External Defibrillator or AED is a life-saving machine that can give the heart a controlled electrical shock during a cardiac arrest.

For every minute that passes without defibrillation chances of survival decrease by about 10 per cent.

Research shows that giving a controlled shock within five minutes of collapse provides the best possible chance of survival.

A new group aimed at boosting tourism in the Tweed Valley on the back of the mountain biking industry has been formed.

The Tweed Valley Mountain Biking Stakeholder Group - made up of representatives from a wide range of organisations including Scottish Borders Council, Scottish Enterprise and Forestry Commission Scotland - held its first meeting last week.

By developing the opportunities associated with mountain biking in the area the group, which will meet regularly over the coming months, hopes to encourage more tourists to visit the Tweed Valley and enhance the local economy.

Matthew Taylor meets three-year-old rescue dog Rauour, whose nose is responsible for finding an unconscious missing woman last night.

Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Team found a missing woman last night with the help of a new rescue dog.

Three-year-old Rauour and handler John, a member of Tweed Valley MRT, found the unconscious woman at 8pm after a three hour search in the Innerleithen area.

Because of the woman’s dark clothing and distance into the woodland, the Mountain Rescue Team claim it was Rauour’s sensitive nose that located the woman.

Despite the difficult conditions, a Royal Navy Seaking Helicopter from HMS Gannet was also scrambled and used its infrared camera to assist in the search.

The helicopter then airlifted the woman to hospital.

Tweed Valley MRT believe Rauour helped to save the woman's life.

Members of the Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Team have been learning life-saving skills today during a training exercise at the River Ettrick. The Scottish Border based volunteers have been learning how to search rivers safely and rescue people drifting downstream. Jenny Longden reports

A fundraising campaign has been launched to replace the control vehicle used by Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Team.

The charity, which is made up of on-call volunteers, are asking members of the public to buy a 'virtual pint' online, by donating the cost of a pint to their cause.

They want to buy a new £60,000 state of the art vehicle, equipped with technology such as a satellite data connection, touch screen computers for search planning and the most up to date communications equipment.

The current vehicle is 15 years old.

More information can be found here.

As the Tour De France comes to the North of England, a different type of cycling is taking hold in the South of Scotland.

A national centre for mountain biking has recently opened in the Borders, aiming to help businesses cash-in on growing enthusiasm for the sport. As Joe Pike reports:

Two of the things most celebrated in the Scottish Borders are being brought together in a brand new event.

They're a type of fabric synonomous with the area and the region's favourite sport. Jenny Longden went to the launch of the Tweed cycle ride.

Cyclists in the Scottish Borders are being urged to don their tweeds for a new biking event.

The Tweed Ride launched today as part of the annual TweedLove festival, in association with Homecoming Scotland.

The 10-mile ride will take place on 8 June, and will start in Peebles town centre and finish up at Traquair House, where there will be a mini-festival.

Organisers are encouraging those that want to take part to come decked out in tweed or period clothing.