AN urgent appeal has been made by Tavistock’s Dartmoor Search and Rescue Team for help in raising £50,000 for a new rescue control vehicle.

The team is launching ‘Rescue-50’ this Saturday (February 15) and aims to raise the cash by the end of 2020 to replace its 18-year-old vehicle, which may not survive the year.

Local residents are being asked to take part in the appeal in any way they can — either by conducting a marathon music event, a non-uniform day or hosting a quiz night. No event would be too big or too small.

Josephine Collingwood, fundraising officer for DSRT Tavistock, said that the team receives no government funding and relies solely on donations to remain operational and replace old equipment.

She said: ‘We are hoping that the Tavistock community will help us by joining in and doing some fundraising for us.

‘We cannot operate without the donations and fundraising from the public.

‘The race is on to try and get these funds together to replace the vehicle.’

Team members of DSRT Tavistock are undertaking their own individual fundraising projects, including a bespoke letterbox trail, a remote first aid awareness course and a guided wild camp on Dartmoor.

Since 1968 DSRT Tavistock has been saving lives on Dartmoor and is made up entirely of volunteers who are on call 24-hours a day, 365 days of the year.

The team operates through the police and searches for, and rescues, the injured, lost or missing on Dartmoor and surrounding areas. This includes despondents, people living with dementia and vulnerable adults.

The new control vehicle would be fitted out with state-of-the-art mapping and communications equipment and would be the team’s new mobile command and control centre and would mean it can continue its emergency service.

The launch event of Rescue-50 will be held in Bedford Square this Saturday from 9am to 5pm. There will be two of the team’s rescue vehicles attending, along with many team members, activities, games, demos and lots of fundraising. And weather and access permitting there may be a stretcher abseiling off Tavistock Town Hall.

For more information visit www.dsrt-tavistock.org.uk