The North Dartmoor Search and Rescue Team is rapidly accelerating its way towards operating a new unit control vehicle with the help of three new grants totalling nearly £20,000.

The emergency service team has been granted £10,000 from the National Lottery Community Fund, £5,000 from West Devon Borough Council and £3,750 from the Bernard Sunley Foundation, advancing the team’s mission to raise the required £65,000 before the spring next year. A significant amount has already been raised to fund the new control vehicle, which will provide a more modern and appropriate alternative to the team’s current vehicle which has become outdated over time.

Among other donations was one from Dartmoor Explore and Kernow Training Solutions, pictured right.

The team’s equipment officer Mick Burke said: ‘When teams go out they have computers in the back of the vehicle which link to radio systems which link back to the vehicle, allowing officers to be tracked on the ground.

Our current vehicle is over 20 years old; when it had its last MOT it took over a week to carry out the necessary maintenance and knew then we really needed a replacement with a vehicle that is fit for purpose in the 21st century.

‘We’ve raised over £40,000 now, and the outfitting process requires £20,000 worth of work; some of this will come from existing funds and we will also be applying for more grants to meet the balance. We’re 75% of the way there.

We already have the new vehicle, it’s a Mercedes Sprinter and we are in the process of arranging for it to be fitted with shelves, desks and all the appropriate equipment in the New Year.’

This upcoming technology installation and commissioning process will see the Sprinter fitted with a ten metre antenna to increase radio range, two digital base station radio systems to monitor team channels and helicopter operating channels, and a further analogue base station. It will also have mobile phone linked Wi-Fi connection over three different phone providers and handheld airwave radios for communication with other emergency services.

The vehicle will further provide secure storage for medical equipment, a power supply with a back-up generator and charging facilities for 12 team radios and a deployable re-broadcasting backpack.

The team also received £1,200 from county council budgets in the early autumn, whereby four respective councillors donated £300 from each of their annual locality funding pots. More recently, in October, a handful of the team’s trainee officers completed a 55 mile walk over 26 hours, raising over £4,500 for the cause. Mayor for West Devon, Cllr Caroline Mott was at the finish line to award the team their medals. The search and rescue team is the mayor’s chosen charity to support this year. Upon receipt of the news of their newest three grants, Cllr Mott said: ‘This is amazing news and such a welcome surprise for the team to receive this funding.

‘This charity is very close to my heart due to my earlier history with them as a volunteer many years ago, where I saw first hand just what a fantastic job they do on the moors and in urban areas too, helping people when most needed. They do invaluable work for the community all hours of the day and night and often put their own lives on the line in their rescue efforts.’

The search and rescue team receives no government funding and thus relies solely on donations and grants to remain operational. They remain on call 24/7, 365 days a year and the team’s operations spread far beyond the moors, operating across 700 square miles in Devon, stretching from Exeter to Bude and Launceston. Last year, the rescue team responded to 33 callouts, 56 percent of which involved vulnerable and despondent people.

To donate to this fundraising campaign, visit www.justgiving.com/campaign/NDSARTControl