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Rescuers to issue cash plea to PM | Rescuers to issue cash plea to PM |
(about 4 hours later) | |
Mountain rescue chiefs from England and Wales are to warn the prime minister the services could struggle unless urgent funding is found. | Mountain rescue chiefs from England and Wales are to warn the prime minister the services could struggle unless urgent funding is found. |
They will ask Tony Blair for £1.5m a year to help the two countries' 73 teams with their annual running costs. | They will ask Tony Blair for £1.5m a year to help the two countries' 73 teams with their annual running costs. |
Wales' 15 voluntary rescue teams jointly receive £13,000 assembly government funding, and nothing from the UK Government. | |
The Scottish Executive has been part-funding its 23 teams since 2003. | The Scottish Executive has been part-funding its 23 teams since 2003. |
Penny Brockman, of Central Beacons Mountain Rescue, is due to meet Mr Blair along with Merthyr Tydfil MP Dai Havard on Wednesday at Downing Street. | |
There are 15 rescue teams in Wales, including mountain and cave rescue, and dog search units. | |
The £13,000 they receive from the assembly government can only be used to buy equipment. | |
'Professional service' | |
Rescue teams in Wales warned in January they needed public funding to reflect their increased use as "urban search" teams by police. | |
Chris Lloyd, from Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Team, said he feared they were often used just as a "cheap resource". | |
Many teams also say they spend as much time fundraising as they do on rescues. | |
Ms Brockman, treasurer of the Mountain Rescue Council for England and Wales, said: "We are a 999 service in our own right. We provide a professional service, but the only difference is that we're volunteers. | |
"We'll be asking Mr Blair for funding in line with the Scottish model." | "We'll be asking Mr Blair for funding in line with the Scottish model." |
In recent months, the Central Beacons Mountain Rescue Team has been used to search for a young child in Haverfordwest and an elderly man with Alzheimer's in Tonyrefail. | |
Other teams have been called out to search for the bodies of people who have killed themselves and to hunt for evidence in murder cases. | |
Mountain rescue teams are often used in "urban searches" | |
Brecon Mountain Rescue Team has estimated annual running costs of around £20,000 which is paid for by fundraising events. | Brecon Mountain Rescue Team has estimated annual running costs of around £20,000 which is paid for by fundraising events. |
Deputy leader Mark Jones said some volunteers were worried about where their next litre of fuel is coming from. | Deputy leader Mark Jones said some volunteers were worried about where their next litre of fuel is coming from. |
He added: "We nearly spend as much time fund-raising as we do rescuing people. | He added: "We nearly spend as much time fund-raising as we do rescuing people. |
"We have to fund things like blue light training [emergency vehicle training] with the police. | |
"That means a person having three weeks off work, often unpaid, to go on a course. | |
"Our running costs are about £20,000 per year and we calculated one year that we saved Dyfed-Powys Police about £200,000 in rescue costs." | "Our running costs are about £20,000 per year and we calculated one year that we saved Dyfed-Powys Police about £200,000 in rescue costs." |
A Home Office spokeswoman said in January that mountain rescue work was "welcomed". | A Home Office spokeswoman said in January that mountain rescue work was "welcomed". |
She added: "Local police forces have different priorities in the work they do, so it's a matter for them and local chief constables to make a decision on what they do to assist local mountain rescue teams." | She added: "Local police forces have different priorities in the work they do, so it's a matter for them and local chief constables to make a decision on what they do to assist local mountain rescue teams." |
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