The new Land Rover, left, with the one bought last year. Photo: Jason Baxter
A volunteer mountain rescue team has wheeled out its second new off-road ambulance in a year, thanks in part to its share of a £½m charity donation.
Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Team’s Tweed Bravo Land Rover will join a similar Alpha vehicle which went into service last year.
The team, which covers an area of 2,500 square miles stretching from the English border to Edinburgh, received a £20,000 donation from St John Scotland as part of a wider £500,000 grant to Scottish mountain rescue teams. The Tweed team also benefited from a £10,000 gift from the Robertson Trust last year.
The new vehicles replace the team’s existing Land Rover ambulances which had been in service since 1997 and 1999 respectively.
Each vehicle cost around £42,000 to purchase and convert and team members have taken part in a variety of fundraising activities over the past 10 years to raise the additional funds required for the project.
The team said although it is part-funded by the Scottish and UK Governments it remains reliant on donations from members of the public in order to provide a continued service to the local community.
Ray Smith, Tweed Valley MRT vehicle officer, said: “To see a volunteer mountain rescue team replace its two ageing vehicles with two state-of-the art models within the space of a year is a fantastic achievement.
“Many people have helped make the completion of these vehicles possible and I believe this demonstrates the dedication and commitment of our team members to serve their local community.”
Captain Younger hands over the keys. Photo: Jason Baxter
The keys to Tweed Bravo were handed to the team by the Lord Lieutenant of Tweeddale Captain David Younger, and a search and rescue helicopter crew from HMS Gannet also took the opportunity to become familiar with the team’s new vehicles and their capabilities whilst they were in the Peebles area on a training exercise.
Capt Younger said: “The original Tweed Bravo was provided by St John Scotland in 1999 some 12 years ago and again today our sincere thanks go to the order for their extremely generous contribution towards the cost of the vehicle.”
