Salford graduate revives project halted by Covid-19 in bid to raise money for Buxton Mountain Rescue

The mountain rescue team are hoping the film will be a useful tool to educate, inform, entertain and fundraise.

Luke Leutner, a BA (Hons) Television and Radio Production graduate, came up with the idea of the 45-minute programme back in Autumn 2019.

“It all started when I had to come up with a programme idea for my final year university project. I'd already filmed a short documentary with Buxton Mountain Rescue Team and knew they were a great cause, so I wanted to do more to support them, as it was a cause I felt passionate about. It eventually developed into a live charity stream, broadcast on social media,” he said.

Unfortunately, a few days before the broadcasting of the programme the UK went into its first national lockdown in March last year.

“We were at the stage where I’d filmed all the VT’s for the programme, including the story of a climber, Oli, who had been rescued from a really bad fall. We were all set - I’d even bought refreshments for the crew on set. Then the unexpected happened and we had to call everything off due to the pandemic. It was disappointing but there was nothing we could do about it at the time,” explained Luke.

But that didn’t deter him and now, just over year later, Luke, who now works as a Junior Engineer in London, is travelling back to the North “to finish this project and show the world all the excellent work the team do.”

Incredibly Luke will be building a set from scratch on site, with his current employer, broadcast specialists Sound Credit TV, kindly lending him their broadcast kit, making all this possible. Current Salford student Charlie Betts has also volunteered to help out on the day, assisting with production on set.

Luke looks back at his time at the University of Salford fondly and says it equipped him with lots of the skills he will use during the live streaming of the programme this month.

Buxton Mountain Rescue was originally set up to help people in difficulty on remote moorland areas. Over time, this has expanded into other types of searches and locations, for instance co-operating with the police in searching for missing  and vulnerable people in semi-urban areas, or assisting the ambulance service with patients in places with difficult access or in adverse weather conditions.

Neil Carruthers, Team Leader at Buxton Mountain Rescue, said: “We are delighted to be working with Luke and his team. We very much hope that BMRT live will give all the viewers an insight into the work our volunteers do. I hope you find the event interesting and informative. We look forward to hearing from you during the event.”

Watch the programme live on Buxton Mountain Rescue’s Facebook page and YouTube channel at 7pm on Sunday 25 April 2021.

Find out how you can support the charity.