Helmsdale.org

Downgrade threat to coastguard team

A COASTGUARD station which has been in existence in Sutherland for nearly a century is in danger of being downgraded because of a lack of volunteers.

 

If new members are not found to join the Helmsdale team, it will have to be scaled down from a full search and rescue team to an initial response team.

Coastguard sector manager Bryan Jones, based in Dornoch, explained there are currently eight members on the Helmsdale team but that was likely to drop to six in the near future.

"We are having a recruitment problem in Helmsdale. The team should have 11 members to operate efficiently, but we are down to eight and it doesn't look like it's going to get any better," he said.

"I am possibly going to lose another two members – just through natural wastage and people leaving the area. That will bring us down to six.

"It is looking more and more as if the village itself cannot support the team. At the moment I have members who live up to 12 miles outwith the village, which is not good for a rapid response. We really need people within a couple of miles of the village who can respond quite quickly. They also need to have a driving licence."

Initial attempts to raise interest amongst Helmsdale residents in joining the team have not been promising, however, and there has been little response to adverts placed in local shops.

Mr Jones said Helmsdale has had a coastguard station since at least 1912 – the year is inscribed on the beams of the former, now redundant station at the harbour.

Over the past few years there has been a massive investment in the Helmsdale team with hundreds of thousands of pounds spent on providing a new coastguard station, a new 4x4 vehicle, training and equipment.

The team is currently classed as capable of carrying out full-scale search and rescue operations, including cliff top rescues with ropes.

Volunteers at Helmsdale are called out on average to between seven and 10 incidents a year, but can also be asked to back up other teams.

Mr Jones explained: "If our recruitment problem can't be solved, then the team is under direct threat of being reduced to an initial response team, meaning they will be called out to an incident but can only report back on the situation rather than taking any action.

"If this happens, they will lose their ropes and cliff rescue equipment. This could happen within the next few months.

"It would be a pity after a hundred years to see this team reduced, but we may not have the choice without local support."

Anyone interested in joining the Helmsdale team is asked to call station officer Catherine Whitehead on 01431-821246 or Bryan Jones at the Dornoch Station on 01862-810016.

Published on Friday 20 June 2008 by David Mason
Last edited on Friday 20 June 2008 by David Mason