A FORMER North Dartmoor Search and Rescue team member was named a Pride of Britain finalist last week in recognition of his dedicated fundraising for the Dartmoor charity.
Les Agar, who lives in Okehampton, has spent his life devoted to the search and rescue organisation, was nominated after he raised over £53,000 with only a ‘stool’ and ‘bucket’ at his local petrol station.
Gavin Grimsey, team chairman, described the impact that Les’s fundraising had had on the team.
He said: ‘It’s a staggering amount for one person to raise and we are so grateful of his collecting efforts, he’s on that forecourt in all weather.
‘We are so proud and really pleased for him that he’s become a regional finalist for the Pride of Britain Award.
‘This money is so important to keep us operational so we can help people who may be lost or injured either on the moors or elsewhere in Devon. It costs us over £24k a year to run the team and knowing Les is always out there supporting us is amazing and hugely reassuring; it takes more than one person to form a team and Les is a hugely valued part of our team. – thanks Les from all the team.’
Les, who described his dedication to search and rescue team as a ‘little bit of an obsession,’ first become involved with the charity in 1977 after a Christmas walk on Dartmoor with friends when it was suggested he join the search and rescue team.
Les said: ‘I found out about the Dartmoor search and rescue team in Christmas 1977 when we went on a Dartmoor letterboxing walk. We passed around hip flasks and sang a couple of verses of a Christmas carol and then walked back.
‘I did the training which is nothing like it is now, and was put in charge of looking after all the equipment - I became equipment officer.
‘I’m no longer an operational member but I still wanted to do something.
‘I was at a petrol station and saw some fundraisers there with a bucket collecting money. I asked “does that work?” and they said “yes”. So, I thought I could do that and I started fundraising at my local fuel station.
‘It’s great. A lot of people give me a wave and people give sometimes a couple of pennies or £20-£30. You never know, there could be a chance for £1,000.’
NDSART covers a large area of the moor from Exeter to Bude and Great Torrington to Moretonhampstead. But the team is also called out to incidents off the moor.