2020 busiest year ever for Wiltshire Search and Rescue
The charity saw a huge increase in call outs on the previous year
Volunteers from Wiltshire Search and Rescue were requested 165 times in 2020. That's an increase of more than a 100 compared to 2019.
The team of 85 volunteers gave 16,172 hours given to the community.
The charity say the increase is down to it being a tough year, with people's mental health being affected by the pandemic.
Help was given to emergency services carrying out missing person searches, support was given to local hospitals and they also carried out welfare visits.
The team also took part in over 1,300 hours of training and 2,100 hours of fundraising to ensure that the charity could keep going.
It didn't stop in 2020 either, as their first call this year arrived just a few minutes past midnight on New Year's Day.
It was a challenging year financially for the charity as well, as most of their events had to be cancelled due to Covid-19.
Adrian Sawyer, chair of Wiltshire Search and Rescue, said:
"This has been our busiest year ever. This is partly due to our increased close working relationship with the police, fire and ambulance services, as well as alongside Great Western Hospital, and our ability to quickly mobilise a number of our volunteers anywhere in Wiltshire with very little notice.
The global pandemic has challenged everyone across the county and our volunteers have been able to support where needed, be on call for our searching tasks and our expertise has been used on a number of occasions. I’m proud of the efforts of every one of our volunteers and know that we will continue to be here when our community needs us most.
We are proud of the volunteering that we do and 2020 saw some challenging, emotional and rewarding searches for our team. We are also so grateful for everyone who has given ÂŁ1 or ÂŁ10,000 towards the cause. We have to fundraise every penny that we need including headlight bulbs, bandages, head torches and maps. Fundraising is as vital as our search work because it is what keeps us able to help when our community needs us most. We continue to need help in this area so please offer what you can."
In February, the charity will be celebrating its 20th anniversary.
Details about what they have planned are going to be announced soon.