Dartmoor Search and Rescue Team (Tavistock) has two reasons to celebrate this spring.

The team officially opened its new garage for its vehicles while also also showing off its newly-commissioned command and control vehicle.

A VIP ceremony was held at the garage on Abbey Rise, Tavistock recently to name the van and open the garage.

Councillor Debo Sellis, Mayor of West Devon Borough, officially opened the garage and Tavistock Mayor Paul Ward also attended. Donations from both councils helped both rescue team projects go ahead.

Purchasing the sophisticated van was made possible through the team’s Rescue 50 Appeal, which paid for a conversion with digital and other communications systems.

The new control vehicle has been named 'Terry' after Terry Bumford, a distinguished ex-Royal Marine and life member of the team, who is known to many of the mountain rescue community not least for being the first NSARDA (the National Search & Rescue Dog Association) dog handler in the South West.

Terry sadly passed away in 2021 and is much-missed.

Team chairman Alistair Reid said: “The team was honoured to have some members of Terry’s family were present at the ceremony as special guests, including his daughter Wendy who cut the commissioning ribbon on the vehicle.”

The new garage and van were made possible only through the outstanding financial support of West Devon and Tavistock councils, various groups and many individuals within the local community, as well as individual team members’ fundraising efforts.

As ever, many team members were well to the fore, giving up precious free time, in assisting with the conversion of the vehicle.

A special mention was given at the ceremony to Dave Painter, who is not a member of the team, for his expertise in sorting out the electrical circuitry during the control vehicle conversion.

The Tavistock team is now focusing its fundraising activities on finding replacements for two ageing Land Rovers.