CN04 NPC is a Land Rover Defender 110 TD5 used by the Central Beacons Mountain Rescue Team. The roof and the inside of the vehicle are filled with specialist rescue equipment. Notice how the roof light bar is nearly covered by the substantial roof rack.
The rear view, showing the additional blue rotating beacon above the rear door. Notice the wording on the wheel cover advising other vehicles to stay back from the Land Rover.
This Land Rover is in service with Western Beacons Mountain Rescue Team. It has orange and white battenburg markings down the sides and blue lights on the roof rack.
PN02 SVR This is a Keswick Mountain Rescue Land Rover Defender Td5.
The side view of the same Landy. It has minimal livery but the bright orange stripe and roof make it stand out from other traffic. All sides have bright floodlights to illuminate the ground immediate around the vehicle.
The rear view. The high-intensity blue flashing lights at the rear complement the light bar at the front of the roof and the repeaters on the front grille. The white pole to the right is a telescopic communications antenna, essential in mountainous terrain where mobile ‘phones don’t work.
The rear three-quarter view. The registration plate is just visible behind the ladder and mesh protector.
PN02 SVP ‘SVP’ is the identical sister vehicle to ‘SVR’.
R242 WRM This is Keswick’s custom-built Ford Transit County. It is in the same livery as their Land Rovers, with just as much ground clearance.
The front view, showing the flashing lights and the roof rack.
The rear. The door is hinged at the top so it swings up and out of the way to allow a casualty on a stretcher to be loaded. The injured party is then driven to a waiting ambulance or taken directly to hospital.
The rear three-quarter view of the Transit. The roof rack can be quickly removed by unplugging the electrics and unclipping the metal clamps.
12 KJ 09 This RAF Mountain Rescue Landrover Defender 110 carries a yellow tiger-stripe livery over a dark green body colour. It is fitted with two blue rotating beacons on the roof.
Y221 PWT and YH03 OSB: A Land Rover Defender and a Vauxhall Movano from Holme Valley MRT. Notice that both vehicles carry blue lights, have a red and white checkered band down the sides and are labeled as ambulances.
In this scenic shot the MR Land Rover is joined by a RAF Sea King helicopter.
J263 TNC This is a Glossop Mountain Rescue Land Rover Defender. It has a blue light on the roof, with repeaters on the grille. Also note the small spotlights at either side of the windscreen and the equipment stowed on the roof.
YW52 FKX is a Mercedes RAF Mountain Rescue van at Loxley Hill, Hope.
This is one of three Land Rover Defenders run by the North West Mountain Rescue Team. They operate from Londonderry, Belfast and Fermanagh in Northern Ireland.
P143 UGG Also belonging to the North West MRT is this LDV Convoy. It is used for search and rescue purposes in areas such as that shown in the backdrop, but is not fitted with any blue beacons.
The next three photographs show the Northumberland National Park Search and Rescue Team. The team have been in operation since 1963 and are based at Northumbria Police’s headquarters in Ponteland near Newcastle. Using the highly capable Landrover, here we see a muddy and slippy hill descended with ease.
The Land Rover now enters deep, dirty water and is equally at home. The vehicles are fitted with blue flashing lights and ‘search and rescue ambulance’ lettering.
X56 WGR and M846 HCN Two of the Land Rovers comfortably make their way across the water.
V763 EDB A mountain rescue Land Rover outside one of the most famous pubs in the country, The Rovers Return from TV soap opera Coronation Street!
JP 01 AA
RAF Mountain Rescue
Land Rover Defender
A rather scenic view of a Lake District Fell with a RAF Mountain Rescue Land Rover. The versatility of this vehicle is perfect for the terrain the rescuers cover.
Combined personnel from Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue Team (BPMRT) and Rossendale Search and Rescue Team (RSRT) carry a ‘casualty’ to two Land Rover 110s. The BPMRT Land Rover (One Zero) is fitted with homemade detachable cages for all the equipment. They can easily be removed and put into another vehicle enabling a stretcher to be carried.
There is one noticeable difference between RSRT’s vehicle (on the left) and BPMRT’s (on the right) – the grille-mounted blue lights. BPMRT are now fitting these to all their vehicles to aid safe passage when using ‘blues and twos’. It was found that because the Land Rover is higher than most vehicles, when it was close behind a car the car driver was only able to see the grille and was unaware that it was an emergency vehicle. The grilles will also be painted fluorescent yellow.
V761 EDB This Land Rover is joined by two other 110s used by the Bolton Mountain Rescue Team, based in the Mid Pennines and the sister team of Bowland Pennine & Rossendale. Notice the ‘V’ shape of blue lights and the additional blue lights next to the winches.
ICZ 8654 This is a Ford Transit that is used by Norhants Rally Safety. It carries both fire fighting and emergency medical equipment. The vehicle has the call sign ‘Lace Rescue’.
In this action shot, a Pennine Rescue motorsport ambulance is at the scene of a grass racing car that has rolled during a race. The medics and marshals arrive at the scene just after the car stopped rolling. They quickly deployed fire extinguishers and carefully helped the driver exit the vehicle.
LY05 RLU This is a Renault Master that is used as a rescue ambulance. It is operated by MSVR, Motor Sport Vision Racing.
Here are two views of a Renault Espace medical car that is used for on-track motorsport events.
CA02 OWH This is a silver Ford Mondeo that is used as an ambulance rapid response car by Vision Motorsport. In the background you can see cars racing at an airfield.
The rear view of the Mondeo.
W657 BOV is a red LDV Convoy that has been converted into a motorsport rescue ambulance. It carrieds ambulance battenburg markings and a number of blue flashing lights on the grille, dashboard and roof.
The rear view of the rescue ambulance.
This is a Nissan Skyline GTR that is used as a high-speed rescue vehicle. It has blue lights fitted to the dashboard and ‘RESCUE’ written in large letters over the roof and rear screen.
The rear view of the Skyline. It carries a simple colour scheme of yellow and orange.
CN06 AVV This red Iveco is operated by Dragon Motorsport Rescue. It has a similar livery to a fire vehicle with red and yellow battenburg markings up the sides. The front facing panels have been painted yellow.
The rear view of the van showing the two full-width light bars on the roof.
AJ02 NBN This Peugeot rescue ambulance is used by Darlington & District Motor Club. It has two full-width blue light bars on the roof, as well as smaller repeaters on the front and rear.
M999 LRS This silver Vauxhall Vectra is used by RallySupport Northwest.
M999 LRS Here is another black Vectra that belonged to RallySupport Northwest. It carries the same registration (on a cherished transfer) as other models. This night-time shot shows the effectiveness of the amber warning lights.
RE05 CUE With a personalised registration almost reading ‘RESCUE’ this red Iveco Daily, belonging to Serpent Motorsport Medical Services, is used for cover at motorsport events. It has a 3.0 litre 166 bhp diesel engine with heavy duty suspension and differential lock.
The rear view of the specially-ordered Iveco.
N346 XHH This Ford Transit ambulance is used at Croft Motor Racing Circuit. It is liveried to indicate this on the sides.
K207 APY This aging Mercedes is also a motorsport ambulance at Croft.
K206 APY The rear view of the above Merc, alongside its sister vehicle.
Calder Rescue run this bright yellow H-reg Transit. Notice the four spot lamps on the bonnet, similar to rally cars’, for driving through unlit stages at night.
Here is a Calder Rescue Ford Transit joined on-stage by a Vauxhall Frontera official vehicle which is fitted with an amber lightbar.
P680 DOB This Vauxhall Vectra is typical of the ‘amber’ vehicles that are used for some motorsport cover.
H6 MHC This turbo-diesel VW is liveried as a rescue ambulance for the Midland Hillclimb Championship. It is fitted with blue flashing lights on the roof and on the front bumper.
The rear view of the VW.
R278 JKV This Peugeot Boxer ambulance is owned by Pro-Medical Services. It carries a selection of emergency medical equipment.
The rear view, showing further the sparse livery.
FTN 184W This green Land Rover Series 3 Stageone V8 is the primary firefighting vehicle for Croft Motor Racing Circuit (near Darlington, County Durham). It carries Croft’s corporate livery and has two blue rotating beacons on the roof alongside an amber flashing beacon. Inset: the rear view.
ICZ 8654 Here are two views of a Ford Transit ambulance rally rescue unit used by Lace Rescue. It has a Northern Irish registration and bi-lingual ‘ambulance’ wording (ambiwlans in Welsh).
The view into the offside door. The vehicle has two side-loading doors. One gives normal access to the back of the vehicle, the other access to a partitioned off area in which the rescue kit is kept (shown). The rescue kit includes heavy rescue equipment, a telescopic power ram and a powered saw.
The view into the rear of the rescue unit / ambulance showing the patient care area.
K999 PRS This Iveco Daily motorsport rescue ambulance is operated by Phoenix Rescue Services Ltd. The vehicle is very smart with eye-catching livery and additional white and blue flashing lights. It matches its immaculately turned out crew.
The rear view of the vehicle. Notice the row of four repeater blue flashing lights at the rear. All funds raised from donations are fed back into the company to cover running costs and equipment purchases.
R999 RTW This is a 2003 Nissan Nevara fast intervention vehicle (FIV) operated by Rescue-tech-Wales. The RACMSA introduced this new class of rescue vehicle in 2000 to get essential equipment to an accident scene while slower and more comprehensively equipped vehicles make their way there. They are not used for patient transportation.
The rear view of the same Nissan. The car has upgraded suspension and its engine has been modified to 181 bhp from the 2.5 tdi unit. The private registration relates to the company that runs the unit, Rescue-tech-Wales, hence ‘999’ and ‘RTW’.
This Ford Transit marked as an emergency ambulance is operated by Serpent Rescue.
A rear view of a Vauxhall Vectra estate ambulance belonging to Ambulance Direct (Yorkshire). Note the non-standard livery and one red lightbar. The additional red light bar is a stroboscopic warning system for use on race tracks where red is the recognised danger signal, the lens can however can be converted to blue for other deployments.
R570 FWU This is a V8 LDV 400 Convoy ambulance rescue unit from the British Racing and Sports Car Club. It is refreshing to see a non-state ambulance decked out in interesting markings, and no battenburgs in sight! It carries both medical and extraction equipment set by the Motor Sport Association.
The front view, showing the light arrangement, livery and some of the crew! They are unpaid volunteers who undertake regular assessments and training carried out by fire service and paramedic instructors.
Y91 LAN This is a Saab 95 estate. Its powerful turbo-charged engine makes it ideal for the Medical Rescue Team based at Oulton Park motor racing circuit. This car is fully road legal and had been driven to the event by the team.
Here is another view of the modified 95 estate provided by the rescue team (showing one of the paramedics). It has 270 bhp provided by an upgraded ecu chip. Upgraded brakes and suspension and touring car tyres keep it on the track, most of the time! The car was donated to Octagon Motorsport at Oulton Park by SAAB UK. The vehicle is due to be replaced with a newer 93 estate in 2003. The circuit also runs a Toyota donated in 1995. The purpose of the cars at OP is to get a definitive medical response to any incident within 1 min! The equipment range is vast, covering everything you would expect from an A+E based hospital response unit, even a portable anesthetic unit.
H425 WWX is a 1990 Landrover Defender being used by ‘Pennine Rescue’, a company that specialises in providing rescue ambulance cover for motorsport events.
The rear view. This vehicle has been donated by Transco and is ideally suited to crossing boggy fields or hills to get to where it is needed.
This Ford Transit replaced the white Landrover 130 above. It is a 4×4 Ford Transit County in Pennine Rescue’s distinctive green livery.
The rear view of this high ground-clearance vehicle.
T727 TWX Another of Pennine Rescue’s vehicles is this green Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 312D rescue ambulance. This smart van has two light bars and repeater blue lights on the grille as well as an eye-catching battenburg livery.
The rear view. The company emphasises the ‘rescue’ side of their service rather than the ‘ambulance’ side. ‘Rescue’ is written on every side of the vehicle, between the blue lights on the roof bar and on the personnel’s clothing. The vehicles carry amongst other items fire fighting equipment and heavy cutting equipment, including the jaws of life, spreaders and saws.