SEARCH and rescue volunteers will have a brand new van to help them in their work after being supported by the High Sheriff of Wiltshire’s endowment fund.

Wiltshire Search and Rescue trustee Sarah Wolf said: “This van will transform our search capability and allow us to work smarter and be more efficient. At the moment we have one van that we keep all our equipment so there is hardly room to turn round in it. Recently we were out on a search for three days and three nights so the van is really a home from home.

“Having another van will allow us to use it as an operations centre and also for team welfare. It will make so much difference and we are very grateful.”

WILSAR had applied for £3,000 from the fund to replace its ageing van, which it said is no longer fit for purpose. The fund granted it £500 but the remainder of the £3,000 it needed was made up from money left in the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner Grant Fund.

WILSAR has more than 50 trained volunteers who are called in to help police and fire rescue service staff in the search for missing people.

The cash given to WILSAR was just part of £6,000 which has been donated to community groups around Wiltshire from the fund, which is administered by the Wiltshire Community Foundation.

A meeting of the High Sheriff’s fund grants panel, chaired by new High Sheriff Nicky Alberry and including outgoing sheriff Lady Marland, also gave grants to the Wiltshire Magistrates Association, Swindon Youth for Christ, Friends of Gloucester House and Rise 61.

The Wiltshire Magistrates Association was given £550 to organise its annual mock trial competition.

Swindon Youth for Christ was given £2,500 to help it run a new project to tour Swindon, encouraging young people to take part in sports activities.

Friends of Gloucester House, which support the Gloucester House Addictions Rehabilitation Centre in Highworth was given £1,500.

The cash boost for WILSAR comes after 17 of its volunteers were sent personalised thank you letters from Kier Pritchard the Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police

The letters thanked the volunteers for their hundreds of hours of service, their important roles in saving the lives of missing people and of their continued hard work in supporting the police when they are called out.

The letters also spoke of the personal sacrifices that volunteers make on a daily basis, often leaving their friends and family to attend a call out when a vulnerable person goes missing.

The chief constable said: “Please be reassured that this fantastic commitment to Wiltshire Search and Rescue does not go unnoticed by me or the senior command team here at Wiltshire Police.”

In 2017 the team attended 41 incidents and were directly responsible for saving the lives of five people, who, without the emergency medical care that the team is trained to deliver, and if they had not been found in time, would have died.

In order to be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the team train for thousands of hours a year in skills such as searching near and on water, medical emergencies and navigation. In total our team gave over 25,000 hours of recorded voluntary time. This total doesn’t include the many hours of awareness-raising, fundraising and personal time given to ensuring the future of the team.

John Needham, Chair of Wiltshire Search and Rescue, added, “The statistics for 2017 show what a vital role we play in supporting the emergency services. Most importantly, vulnerable missing people that we help who need medical attention are given it by our volunteers, specifically trained to do this in an emergency situation. We directly helped to save the lives of five people last year who would have died if they had not been found and given lifesaving treatments by Wiltshire Search and Rescue volunteers.”

The organisation relies entirely on fundraised income and each member of the team gives their time for free. Local companies who are interested in donating should get in touch via fundraising@wilsar.org.uk.