MEMBERS of Bay Search and Rescue were invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace in recognition of the invaluable work they carried out during the floods caused by Storm Desmond.

Station officer and founding member Gary Parsons attended the palace with Mandy Parsons last week, where they both enjoyed royal hospitality and talked with dignitaries about their work.

"Getting to relax in the palace gardens was just lovely," said Mr Parsons. "There were a lot of other people there as well, representing charities.

"I spoke to Prince Edward, who was very interested and also knowledgeable about the bay area.

"The Bay Search and Rescue team absolutely deserved to be recognised like this for the work they all did in the winter of 2015-2016.

"The recognition was done by Prince Michael of Kent, which was good."

The Bay Search and Rescue Team was invaluable during Storm Desmond and its aftermath, with its specialist equipment meaning team members were able to assist emergency services in difficult situations.

Mr Parsons explained that while the team members appreciated the recognition for their work, it would be carrying on as normal.

"It is back to business as usual now. We have a busy year ahead," he said. "We are getting all of our Haglands refurbished, and they cost £70,000 each. We have all the funding secured for the first one, so that is getting underway now.

"I enjoy my work enormously. The members of the team get a great deal of pride from helping people and supporting the emergency services.

"We are most important when conditions become so bad that other emergency services cannot access places they need to get to, and so they need us to help with all our specialist equipment."

Mr Parsons was part of the team that founded the Bay Search and Rescue Team and has been station officer ever since.

Bay Search and Rescue was founded 18 years ago, and operates from its station at Flookburgh.

Meanwhile, a Girlguiding leader from Ulverston had a royally fantastic time at Buckingham Palace.

Chelsea Evans, a leader at 1st Pennington Guides, was one of the 12 Girlguiding members selected to represent the charity as part of the service crew at a Buckingham Palace Garden Party. The young women were given the opportunity to volunteer at this prestigious event, through their commitment and dedication to Girlguiding.

Chelsea said: "This really was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me. I really enjoyed working with the palace team to provide a great service to everyone attending. I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the palace and grounds, and really loved seeing the Queen and other members of the Royal family."