Exmoor Search and Rescue Team

Exmoor Search and Rescue Team (ESRT) operates across a 50-mile-wide area of North Devon and Somerset. In action since the early 1990s, the charity is entirely volunteer run and relies on donations to meet its £20,000 per year running costs.

ESRT has approximately 30 fully-trained operational members from across the two counties. The team regularly trains within the Exmoor National Park boundaries, but it is just as likely to be called to incidents in the centre of Barnstaple, Taunton, the Quantock Hills or in the heart of rural Somerset – as well as within the National Park itself.

Most team callouts are to search for missing persons in rural areas. Search areas might include farmland, woodland or open moorland. ESRT has also been called on to assist with medical emergencies and to help extract casualties from difficult to access locations.

The large geographical area covered by ESRT means that vehicles are key assets. The team's fleet includes a converted Toyota Hilux, which carries specialist medical and rope rescue equipment. It is crucial that the Hilux can get as close to the casualty site as possible.

Richard Sansbury, Vehicle Officer, Exmoor Search and Rescue Team, said, "When the time came to replace a pair of tyres, we wanted a no-compromise, best-in-class mud-terrain tyre. We chose the Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx. With these tyres, we are confident that the Hilux has the optimum set-up to get to where it's needed, whatever the weather."