River rescue team celebrates new base in Tewkesbury (From Tewkesbury Admag)

River rescue team celebrates new base in Tewkesbury

9:48am Thursday 3rd September 2009 in News

THE Severn Area Rescue Association has a new base in Tewkesbury thanks to the efforts of a local company.

After more than a year of searching for a suitable building suitable, SARA was saved more work when Basepoint stepped in and offered a unit rent free, which will be used not only to house the team's vehicle and boat, but also as an office for the next two years.

Sarah Kneath, station chairman, said: “Without this generous offer from Basepoint, Tewkesbury SARA would be a lot further away from becoming an operational rescue station, and huge thanks must go to manager Kate Harrison for arranging this.”

SARA Tewkesbury would also like to thank Cheltenham College for allowing them to use their boathouse in Lower Lode Lane as a temporary base until a more permanent home was found.

SARA's Tewkesbury station was formed just over a year ago, and supports SARA's other three stations, in Sharpness, Beachley and Wyre Forest.

Once up and running, SARA Tewkesbury will serve as a stand-alone station operating within the Tewkesbury area, as well as continuing to provide assistance where needed further afield.

SARA's membership is made up entirely from volunteers, with no paid staff. As a registered charity, all funding is raised by way of donations.

The need for SARA is increasing with more call outs evident year on year. The variety and range of call outs is also increasing.

Typical Incidents involve boats or persons in difficulty in one of the rivers covered, but also the search for missing persons, animal rescue and flood relief are becoming common.

Recent collections at Morrisons in Tewkesbury and in Tewkesbury High Street yielded £632.46 and £498.56 respectively, and SARA has issued its thanks to the public for their support.

SARA Tewkesbury will be holding an open day on Saturday, October 31, which will be open to everybody to come and meet the crew.

Further details will be announced nearer the time.