Exmoor Search & Rescue Team

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Exmoor Search & Rescue Team

Providing search and rescue capabilities in support of the emergency services in Devon and Somerset!

Exmoor Search & Rescue Team is a voluntary Mountain Rescue Team, accredited to Mountain Rescue England and Wales, providing independent or integrated specialist search and rescue capabilities in all-weather, all-season,
mountain, moorland and in-land water rescue environments in support of the emergency services in Devon and Somerset. Our volunteer Team Members are on-call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to assist both Devon & Cornwall Police and Avon & Somerset Police in locating lost or missing persons, and alongside South Western Ambulance Service and Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, recover the injured or ill from remote locations.

02/11/2026

💚 It’s Trustees’ Week! | 2–6 November 💚

Behind every successful search and rescue operation is a team of people working behind the scenes.

Our trustees play a vital role in supporting Exmoor
Search & Rescue, helping guide our charity, support
our volunteers and ensure we’re ready to respond
when our community needs us most.

This week, we’re saying a huge THANK YOU for their
time, commitment and dedication. 👏

Supporting those who rescue, so we can be there
when it matters. 💚

01/11/2026

Search SAREX

At the tail end of Storm Austin and storm Boelo the team carried out end of the month training on the Moor. It was wild and windy as we searched for a missing forager but it ‘aint training if it ‘aint raining!!!

30/10/2026

🎃Mid month Search Training 🎃

🎃Our search exercise this month was suitably Halloween themed - looking for Pumpkins in the woods tested all our observation skills. The serious point was to report back our time in the area, track line length (how far we had wandered through the area) and our range of detection (how far we thought we would see the things we were looking for in the terrain we were in).

🎃With this data our search managers can calculate our POD - probability of detection. There is more to searching than just having a good look!!

29/10/2026

Call-out 30: 29-10-26, Morning, North Curry

The Team were called this morning to assist South West Ambulance Service Trust (SWAST) with the evacuation of a lady from fields with a broken ankle.

On arrival SWAST paramedics had already managed to recover the patient to the road ambulance.

We wish her a swift recovery.

(Stock photo)

Mountain Rescue England and Wales
South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

28/10/2026

Call-out 29: 28-10-26, Afternoon. Blackdown Hills

The Team were called early afternoon to assist South West Ambulance Service Trust (SWAST) with the evacuation of a lady from fields on the Blackdown Hills having broken her leg while walking her dog.

On arrival Team Paramedic Jimmy assisted SWAST paramedics with patient care on scene and alongside Devon and Somerset Fire service evacuated her to the waiting road ambulance.

We wish her a swift recovery.

Mountain Rescue England and Wales
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service
South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

26/10/2026

Rescue 26

Two members of ESRT attended the Rescue 26 Conference recently, with Eoin our Training officer delivering a talk to delegates on ‘Training through Competition’.

Conferences such as these are great opportunities for Team members to look at how others go about Search and Rescue activities, swap equipment ideas and generally network.

23/10/2026

Specialisms Training

In addition to whole team training, our specialisms train once a month in their groups. Medical, Rope, Water, Drones, Search. These sessions allow those team members to hone the more technical skills such as helmet removal, passing knots, flying in the dark or applying lost persons behaviour search theory to a scenario.

21/10/2026

Team Leaders Symposium

Recently our Team Leader and Training Officer joined colleagues from across England and Wales at the first Mountain Rescue England and Wales Team Leaders' Leadership Symposium, held at Plas y Brenin, the National Outdoor Centre in Eryri.

Against a background of seeking resilience in all aspects of MR, the event brought together 25 delegates to share ideas and experience on what it takes to lead volunteer teams. The theme was "Creating the Climate for Success and Wellbeing", and the focus was firmly on people: compassionate leadership, motivating volunteers, leading under pressure, and the link between wellbeing and performance.

Over a day and a half we worked through real scenarios in small groups, asked ourselves what the ideal team leader looks like, and shared what keeps us awake at night. On Saturday evening we heard from Squadron Leader Debs Willcox, Officer Commanding the RAF Mountain Rescue Service, on leading diverse teams.

Sunday was about turning talk into action, exploring MREW's shared values of Teamwork, Excellence, Passion and Caring, and setting clear goals to bring home to Exmoor.

Just as valuable were the conversations in between. We've come away with new ideas, fresh perspective and links with teams across the country that we can draw on long after the weekend.

Huge thanks to Tim Cain, Kev Camplin and the whole delivery team for a brilliant pilot event.

19/10/2026

🕑The clocks go back this week. On the moor, darkness and weather can catch people out faster than they expect.

Exmoor Search and Rescue Team has been on call since 1992. We’re volunteers who give up evenings, weekends and nights to help Avon and Somerset Police and Devon and Cornwall Police find missing and vulnerable people and bring them home safely. That covers searching the moor, steep ground and rope rescue, and water and flood response.

Autumn is when we see conditions change quickly. A few simple habits make a real difference:

🔦 Carry a head torch, even on a short walk
📱 Charge your phone fully and keep a map, on paper or on an app
🧥 Pack an extra layer and something waterproof
🗺️ Tell someone your route and when you expect to be back

If someone is missing or hurt inland, call 999 and ask for the police. On the coast, ask for the Coastguard.

Every callout depends on volunteers who train all year round, and on the people who support them. If you’d like to help keep the team on the road, find us on JustGiving
▶ https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/support-exmoor-srt

18/10/2026

LRF Multiagency water training

ESRT Team members recently took part in an LRF (local resilience forum) flood training day at Cardiff white water centre. Joint training with all our partner agencies and neighbouring teams:Avon and Somerset Police, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue, Avon Fire and Rescue, Avon and Somerset Search and Rescue Team, Wiltshire search and Rescue team, Seven Area Rescue Association, and HM Coastguard; means we will be much more effective together when called to a live incident.

Avon and Somerset Police
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service
Avon Fire & Rescue Service
Avon & Somerset Search and Rescue
Wiltshire Search and Rescue
Severn Area Rescue Association
Maritime and Coastguard Agency

Address

South Molton

Website

http://www.exmoor-srt.org.uk/

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