The pandemic has dashed many fundraising opportunities for Wiltshire Search and Rescue.

The charity has experienced a drop of 40% in their fundraising income, and are working to fill that shortfall.

Volunteers from Wiltshire Search and Rescue have now decided to put their own skills into action and raise money while carrying a stretcher plus a weighted mannequin over rough terrain for 14km.

All team members are tested on their ability to walk five miles, carrying their search kit, in under two hours. They’re also all expected to be fit enough to support with carrying a stretcher for the last 200m of their fitness assessment, which is vital if their missing person needs to be evacuated. The volunteers therefore decided to combine these two crucial elements of their role while also raising much needed income on April 17.

The event will be Covid-secure and will be run as a relay over the course length. Teams will be carrying the stretcher from Barbury Castle to Avebury and beyond, and are hoping to raise £8,000.

The volunteers from the team, who help the emergency services to find vulnerable and missing people, are asking people to sponsor their endeavours.

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald: Wiltshire Search and Rescue

The team’s shopping list of needs includes: annual running costs of £26,000, a new incident control vehicle to replace their ageing one which will cost £75,000 plus enough money to make sure that new trainees have the uniform and kit they need once they’ve finished all their mandatory courses.

Adrian Sawyer, chairman of the charity, said: “As a charity which receives no statutory funding, the pandemic has hit our bank balance hard.

"Every day we have money to spend but with no opportunity to replace it as we usually fundraise outside supermarkets, at events and through team challenges at workplaces. We’ve lost over 40% of our donations and with no date in sight to allow us to do face-to-face fundraising, we needed to be inventive.”

To support the team visit www.justgiving.com/campaign/SponsoredStretcherCarryforWiltshireSearchandRescue