Incidents

We are tasked by the emergency services, including HM Coastguaard, Fire & Rescue, Police and the Ambulance Services. Our teams are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Below are the callouts that we have attended.

• #03: Beachley 25/26-01-21

  The two SARA Beachley Lifeboats were launched around 4pm on Monday afternoon (25 Jan), to support the police and coastguard with a search in the vicinity of the M48 Severn Bridge. They conducted a thorough search, supported by both the police and coastguard helicopters and a coastguard shore team. With nothing found, they recovered shorty after 6pm.

  The smaller SARA Lifeboat 3 was launched again at midday on Tuesday, to continue the search at low water. Again nothing was found after an extensive search and the lifeboat was recovered just after 2pm.

  Our thoughts are with the family of the missing man concerned.

  26th Jan 2021

  26th Jan 2021

• #02: Tewkesbury Badger 23-01-21

  Vale Wildlife Hospital was called to a badger that was stranded on a small piece of land surrounded by floodwater. She was frantically trying to dig her way to safety.
  Within 30 minutes of the photo being taken, that piece of land had been submerged by the floods and the badger was nowhere to be seen.

  Louise drew the short straw to be the one to go out on the boat/jet ski with SARA Upton and luckily they found the badger clinging to a tree in the middle of the floodwater.
  Louise had to scruff the badger and, because she hadn’t been able to take a cage out with her, she had to carry her back, wrapped in just a towel, on her lap (not recommended when handling a badger under normal circumstances). A brave and very well executed rescue by Louise (although she did get bitten in the process, thankfully not seriously).

  23rd Jan 2021

  23rd Jan 2021

• #01: Warwickshire 17-01-21

  The SARA Wyre Forest Team was called out to assist West Mercia SAR with a search in Warwickshire. However as our team was preparing equipment, the police located the missing person and we were stood down.

  17th Jan 2021

  17th Jan 2021

• #116: Bewdley 27-12-20

  Shortly before 7pm, crews from Wyre Forest and Tewkesbury Stations were tasked to assist West Mercia Police and Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service with a high risk missing person search near Bewdley.
  Just as crew were arriving on scene, the missing person was found safe and well by a member of the public.

  27th Dec 2020

  27th Dec 2020

• #115: Monmouth 27-12-20

  Beachley’s SARA Rescue 5 was deployed again for a search in the Wye, continuing the operation from Christmas Day. The team searched from Brockweir to Monmouth.
  Again nothing was found and the search remains ongoing.

  27th Dec 2020

  27th Dec 2020

• #114: Sandhurst Lane, Gloucester 26-12-20

  At 0736 hrs the Sharpness crew were tasked to an evacuation of a resident from Sandhurst Lane.
  An SRT team were deployed to the incident where they launched a boat into the flood water, and made their way to the property.
  With the evacuation complete, all assets were stood down by 1030hrs.

  26th Dec 2020

  26th Dec 2020

• #113: Monmouth & Wye 25-12-20

  The SARA Beachley boats were called upon to support Gwent Police with a search in the River Wye, starting mid-morning on Christmas Day. We deployed SARA Rescue 5 close to Monmouth and also launched SARA Lifeboat 3 to search the lower Wye. Our colleagues from Longtown Mountain Rescue Team were also involved in the operation.
  The teams were stood down around 3pm, with nothing having been found and the search remains ongoing. Our thoughts are with the friends and family of the missing person concerned at this difficult time.
  Many thanks (once again!) to all the volunteers who responded, and to their families.

  25th Dec 2020

  25th Dec 2020

• #112: Newbridge-on-Usk 24-12-20

  No sooner had the flood team returned to Beachley from the long night in Monmouth than they were called out to Newbridge-on-Usk, where a vehicle was stuck in floodwater.
  Team members headed out again, though the fire service were in the process of rescuing the driver as the SARA vehicles arrived on scene. However other SARA crew happened upon another car stuck in flood water in the Usk Valley, and were able to move it and its occupant to safety. Not exactly a ‘life saved’ but definitely a ‘good deed done’.

  24th Dec 2020

  24th Dec 2020

• #111: Monmouth 23/24-12-20

  The SARA Beachley Flood Team, and the flood team from SARA Newport, spent the night at Monmouth Fire Station, on standby to assist South Wales Fire & Rescue Service with flooding emergencies in the Monmouth area.
  The two teams arrived for a briefing just before 10pm on 23 Dec, alongside Fire Service teams from across Gwent and other emergency services. One of the SARA teams was stood down at 3.30am on Christmas Eve, and the other at 7am. Despite large surges of water in the Monnow and the Wye following the torrential rain, none of the various teams needed to deploy overnight.

  23rd Dec 2020

  23rd Dec 2020

• #110: Quenington (East of Cirencester) 23-11-20

  Search teams were called out to Quenington, near Cirencester, to support Gloucestershire Constabulary with a search for a high risk missing person. Land search teams from SARA Tewkesbury and Beachley and water rescue teams from SARA Sharpness were supported by members of Gloucestershire Cave Rescue Group, Wiltshire Search and Rescue and two dog teams from SARDA (South Wales), as well as the police helicopter.

  After several hours of searching rural areas, including rivers and thick woodlands, the missing man was located safe and well – by one of several joint SARA / Cave / WilSAR search parties.

  23rd Nov 2020

  23rd Nov 2020