PUBLICLY donated funds from charity shops in Grange-over-Sands and Milnthorpe has enabled the Morecambe Bay Search and Rescue (BSAR) organisation buy a replacement all terrain vehicle.

It will be pressed into action with another Toyota Hilux which has been donated to the organisation by Vantage Motor Group in Morecambe as part of a two-year sponsorship deal.

BSAR, which was founded in 1999 and specialises in rescue and recovery from quicksand, floods, snow and inaccessible areas, is one of the UK's busiest search and rescue teams. It also searches for missing persons and assists Cumbria and Lancashire fire services, the Police and HM Coastguard across the Morecambe Bay, the Lake District and North Lancashire.

Morecambe Bay is the largest expanse of intertidal mud flats and sand in the UK, covering 120 sq miles. The bay is notorious for its quicksand and fast tide which is said to come in ‘as fast as a galloping horse’. The dangers were dramatically highlighted in 2004 when 23 immigrant Chinese cockle pickers drowned after being cut off by the rapidly advancing tides. BSAR were one of many teams involved in the rescue and recovery operation.

BSAR has 25 frontline operational volunteers who combine specialist training and knowledge of the area to support local emergency services. The team is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Since it was formed, the team has attended around 500 rescue missions and receives up to 50 call-outs per year.

In 2015 Vantage invested more than £750,000 in building a state-of-the-art Toyota showroom in Morecambe, relocating its operations in the area from Grange.

Paul Calland, Deputy Station Officer at Morecambe Bay Search and Rescue, said: “As we are entirely funded by public donations and fundraising activities, we’ve been on the lookout for a major business to support us over the next two years and help us to replace our old rescue vehicles.

“We’re incredibly grateful to Vantage for providing us with two state-of-the-art Toyota Hilux vehicles and for helping us on our mission to make the area around Morecambe Bay a safer place to live and visit.”