A VOLUNTEER search team is seeking new members to help Merseyside police in their rescue work.

Merseyside Lowland Search and Rescue was formed last July and aims to establish, equip, train and run a search and rescue team to serve the communities of Merseyside’s inland areas.

Having secured the approval of Merseyside Police, the group hopes to assist the force and other statutory emergency services as and when requested.

The service will be available 24 hours a day for 365 days each year and will be provided by a group made up entirely of volunteers.

Secretary Norman Hutchings said: “Our members come from a wide range of backgrounds and professions but we do have a wealth of relevant experience to draw on, with people of military background, outdoor instructors and former and serving members of the emergency services, among others.

“We will assist the police with search for missing persons and will assist other agencies to access and extricate causalities and we will provide initial medical care prior to passing casualties over to medical professions.

“We are also trained in water and SAR specific rope access rescue.”

The team is currently training in a range of competencies to the standards of capability set by the Association of Lowland Search and Rescue (ALSAR).

Seven members of the team are qualified search technicians, with six of them also qualified search planners.

Most team members are also certified remote area first aiders.

A recruitment campaign ends on August 31 and Mr Hutchings anticipates that most of the team will be qualified by the early autumn.

“Our aim is to have a team which will go ‘live’ by November.

“To achieve this aim, we will need to equip the team with a wide range of rescue and medical equipment, as well as necessary personal protective equipment for the team members.”

The team is entirely self-funded and does not receive any financial assistance from any government source.

Mr Hutchings added: “In order to reach this initial kitting target, we will need to raise in the region of £35,000.  In addition to this we need to generate income to meet our running costs - for example insurance for training and fundraising events, training costs and consumables.”

  • Are you interested in becoming a part of Merseyside Lowland Search and Rescue? If so, click here for information and to find out how to sign up.