It has been a very difficult week for Saddleworth, but as always during these difficult times the community has come together to help each other out. Our fire service has worked tirelessly with the Police, Mountain Rescue and now the Army. The Salvation Army, Tesco, residents and others have been looking after our emergency services. They have done a great job in sweltering conditions, and not helped at all by the acts of nature.
In recent weeks we have seen some great collaborative working – at Dovestones Reservoir marshals have been appointed to work alongside the Police to ensure that people behave responsibly and they have been very successful.
At this time we need to show our support to all those trying to keep us safe, check in on those who are vulnerable and have breathing difficulties and call NHS direct if there are any concerns.
This may well be a complete accident of nature but, when the time comes for an investigation, if there are any acts of deliberate sabotage or irresponsible behaviour which contribute to this then I support any prosecutions and I would urge all members of the public who see anything suspicious to report it to the Police immediately.
Cllr Garth Harkness
Liberal Democrat Councillor for Saddleworth North