HELP is on hand for lone rangers working in remote areas of the North-East thanks to a partnership between police and the Forestry Commission.
Forest rangers, who frequently work alone in sparsely populated areas of Northumberland, will now be linked to police through forestry radios.
Any ranger who fails to report in at the end of their shift will automatically be linked to police at South West Northumberland area command, meaning help can be obtained fast.
Northumbria Police and the Forestry Commission are piloting the scheme for the UK, and it will be monitored over several months.
Kielder Forest is the largest manmade woodland in Northern Europe, covering 240sq miles, and is a prime location to test out this system. Inspector Kerr Henry said it was a sensible way of using the equipment to keep in touch with forestry staff who work alone.
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