Category: Rescue

Here a Land Rover rescue vehicle from Venturers SAR arrives to rescue a car stranded in floodwater.

YC58 WTV This Renault Master van is used by Wiltshire Search and Rescue.



The rear view showing the matching trailer which includes two canoes on the roof.

N387 CBL This imported Mazda van is part of the Venturers SAR Flood Response team. The vehicle was manufactured in 1995. The flood team respond to major floods and have saved lives all around the UK. This van is not equipped with blue lights.

Y639 TUK This is a SAR Land Rover Defender 110. It is liveried as Dorset Search and Rescue, an organisation formed in 2004. However this vehicle is not part of their fleet. It was used by a civilian international major incident advisor assisting Dorset Police and MOD in running a pre-Olympic training exercise in Dorset. Unfortunately the livery was not approved and neither the use of blue lights outside the MOD training grounds in Lulworth.

It carries blue and amber flashing lights that are used independently as required. Since this photograph was taken, the livery and blue lights have been removed from this vehicle.

The rear view, showing the roof rack for carrying bulky equipment.

JDY 125Y This 1982 Range Rover ambulance is operated by Venturers Search and Rescue. It is fitted with a winch and double blue flashing light on the roof.



The winch is shown in use here as a team member extends it to assist in a very snowy environment.

XLJ 997S In this dramatic shot, a Volvo C303 belonging to The League of Venturers Search and Rescue reaches the top of a steep hill of loose dirt on a training exercise.



A clearer look at the vehicle which carries blue lights.

K518 UJT Dorset Search and Rescue operate this search control unit based on an Optare Metrorider minibus. It has a green and white checkered band down the side and no blue lights fitted.

EX03 UUD is a Land Rover Defender 90 TD5 used by Dorset Search and Rescue, based at Dorchester. It carries no blue lights.

This Land Rover is part of SARA’s (Severn Area Rescue Association) fleet. It is shown here with some of the equipment carried on show.

BX58 RYU This Iveco Daily van is used by the the UK International Search and Rescue Team in conjunction with the West Midlands Fire Service. The UK-ISAR is registered with the United Nations and is on call 365 days a year to respond to humanitarian disasters or accidents anywhere in the world.

BU08 HUV This is a British Red Cross Search and Rescue ambulance. It has been adapted from a standard Land Rover and has been fitted with blue lights and a battenburg livery.

The rear view showing the equipment stowed in the rear and the roof rack holding a lightweight stretcher.

In this action shot RAF SAR helicopter “Rescue 137” is seen airlifting a casualty from a road accident. It takes off from the A87 in Scotland and travels to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness. Many other road-going emergency vehicles can be seen assisting.

Q164 JBV is one of two Hagglund BV 206s that are operated by Bay Search and Rescue at Morecambe Bay, Cumbria. These tracked articulated vehicles can cope with extremely boggy conditions, and replaced a hovercraft that was used in the large tidal bay. The Haggs can travel up to 52 km/h on the road and 3 km/h on water.

K469 AHG This is the second Hagglund operated by Bay SAR. It is fitted with a different trailer to the one above, this time having equipment storage and a crane. It is fitted with a Mercedes-Benz 3-litre diesel engine, which when combined with the tracked wheels can climb slopes up to 45 degrees.

D742 YFG Bay SAR also operate this Land Rover which can tow a trailer with a rib.

Wiltshire Search and Rescue (WILSAR) operate two of these folding cycles. They are Swiss Bike LXs by Montague and due to the hinge below the seat can easily be transported in the back of a car or van. The bikes will be used in urban and rural locations for spotting missing people.

HX07 BBK is an Iveco Daily that is used by Hampshire SAR as an incident control vehicle. It isn’t fitted with any emergency warning equipment.

Here are two of SARA’s emergency rescue boats in action.

This is a Land Rover Defender that is used by Severn Area Rescue Association and a SAR ambulance. It is fitted with blue flashing lights, amber beacons and an ambulance-style colour-scheme.

This is a LDV 200 Pilot van that is also used by SARA for emergency rescue work.

This is an example of the colour-scheme used by Royal Navy rescue helicopters. They are part of the fleet air arm and are based at RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall and Prestwick in Scotland.

This vessel, Knight Errant Venturer, is used by Venturers Serach & Rescue. This organisation is run for teenagers and operates in the Solent to help people and animals in danger or distress.

P737 WGG is a Mercedes Benz Sprinter van that is used by Trossachs SAR team in Scotland. It was donated by Strathclyde Fire & Rescue after being removed from front line services with them. It can carry up to eight search and rescue dogs and is used at incidents across Strathcylde and at major incidents anywhere in Scotland.

M547 UFS Based at MOD Forthside in Stirling, this ex-Scottish Ambulance Service Renault Master ambulance belongs to Trossachs SAR. It is kitted out with ambulance equipment and is used for on-site first aid, as well as transporting personnel to incidents.