West Mercia Search and Rescue appeals for donations after busy May

Voluntary organisation West Mercia Search and Rescue has appealed to the public to top up its operational budget.

It costs about £40,000 to run the charity each year, excluding new vehicles which are purchased with grants.

In recent days the volunteers have spent three days searching for missing people in Oswestry, as well as one day in Leamington, one day in Shrewsbury and one day searching for a missing person in Stratford-upon-Avon, plus a day in Coventry searching for another male.

Chairman Andy MacAuley said: “We get £17,000 from the police and crime commissioner which covers some of our rent and insurance costs, but our expenditure on fuel for the vehicles, quads and boats, our training costs, maintenance, additional insurance costs, first-aid supplies, food and drink for long searches and M6 Toll charges all has to come from public fundraising.

“The major hurdle we have is that we are a small charity. We’re one of 150,000 charities in the UK and it’s an unfortunate fact that the biggest 1.3 per cent of national charities make 72 per cent of all charity income.

“Small charities like ours share just 3.5 per cent of the total, so it’s a constant challenge to remain front of mind and get donations.

“In terms of hours of commitment, we have some volunteers who have given hundreds of hours in the last few weeks alone.

“An all-day search can include a couple of hours’ travel time each way, a day’s searching, and then cleaning and maintenance back at base to get kit ready for the next search.

“Behind-the-scenes work stacks up quickly and forms the bulk of what we do, but we must stay ready to respond when needed. Every pound donated goes towards keeping us operational.”

You can text “resc00 £2” or “resc00 £5” to 70070 to donate, or go to nowdonate.com/checkout/98kzuc2s6n5xr0r4996c