Cave rescuers have hailed a bottle of washing up liquid as the “real hero” after they used it to free a schoolgirl wedged in rocks for more than four hours.
Shannon, 11, was scrambling over rocks on a residential school trip when her leg became trapped between huge granite boulders on Hound Tor in Dartmoor, Devon.
Devon Cave Rescue Organisation (DCRO) joined emergency services at the scene on Tuesday as rescuers scrambled to free the girl.
On his way, team leader Olly Rees bought a bottle of Fairy washing up liquid which “made all the difference” as they were able to use it as lubricant to help slide Shannon free.
“We have a unique skillset – small, tight gaps where we thrive in what we do,” he told the BBC.
“I was on my way up, and I’d heard that somebody’s stuck in a small rock gap, and you don’t really know what that means until you get there and have a look at it.
“We already had some other team members on the way with various specialist gear for widening gaps and breaking rock and so forth, but I just stopped off and got a bottle of the fairy liquid from the petrol station on the way up to the moor.”
Even though her leg was “pretty firmly wedged” in a rock cleft, he added: “We applied it liberally to the leg just to try and get it as slippery as possible to help it to come out. It made all the difference.”
The rescue team signed the bottle and gave it to Shannon, who escaped unhurt, to keep.
“Some of the people in my group went fast and then my friend said that there was a foot thing to put your foot, but then my foot slipped down into the hole and I got stuck,” Shannon explained.
“I didn’t know if I was going to get out and I wanted my mum.”
Mr Rees urged other rescue teams to add the household staple to their kit, adding: “Everyone who was up there all the surface teams, the fire crews, Devon Doctors and the air ambulance were all thinking ‘we should get some of this as well’ so it’s not just our secret anymore.”
DCRO added: “While rescue equipment, technical skills and teamwork all played their part, the real hero of the day may well have been a bottle of Fairy liquid, which proved invaluable in helping bring the incident to a successful conclusion.
“A fantastic example of multi-agency cooperation and a happy ending for a young adventurer.”
