We are unpaid volunteers on call to Avon and Somerset Police, day and night. We search hillsides, cliffs, rivers and floodwater across Bristol, Bath and Somerset.
We turn out for cliffs, rivers, floods, open hillside, night searches, woodland and steep ground.
Most call-outs need more than one kind of skill. Every member is a searcher first. Some go on to train for cliff or water rescue.
Search
Every member starts here.
Search is our biggest section and gets the most call-outs. Open hillside, woodland, farmland and the quiet edges of towns, walked in lines and sectors, often through the night.
Cliff
Where the team began.
The team grew out of cliff rescue in the Avon Gorge and Cheddar Gorge in the 1970s. Today our technical members rescue people from cliffs, steep ground and structures, and carry casualties to safety.
Water
Rivers, weirs, lakes and floods.
Our water members search riverbanks and work in moving water as Swift Water and Flood Rescue Technicians, trained to DEFRA Module 3. We turned out for the Wincanton floods in 2023 and Yate in 2024.
Nobody rings us directly. Every rescue starts with a 999 call and a decision by the Police.
A person is missing, hurt or stuck. The caller asks for the Police. In the hills or on a cliff, ask for the Police and then Mountain Rescue.
Avon and Somerset Police assess the risk and request ASSAR. We work entirely under their direction, under a formal memorandum of understanding.
Members on call get the alert and drop whatever they are doing. Work, dinner, sleep. It happens at any hour and in any weather.
Our search managers work with the Police to plan where to look first, what the ground is like and which teams to send.
Search, cliff and water teams cover the ground. When someone is found we give first aid and get them safely to the ambulance.
Many call-outs run through the night, in rain and cold. Before anyone is sent out, they train for months in the skills hidden on this hillside.
We cover five council areas, from the Severn estuary to the Somerset Levels and the Mendip Hills, and help neighbouring teams when they need more people on the ground.
29
incidents logged in 2026
Up to 17 October, from our call-out log
45
volunteers
Plus 7 trustees, all unpaid
£45k+
needed every year
To keep the team operational
4
response vehicles
North Bristol, Clevedon and Cheddar
Incident 29
Corsham
Overnight land and water search for a missing man living with dementia.
Found alive
Incident 28
Woodland, inland
Large scale land search alongside police and a search dog.
Stood down
Incident 27
Devizes
Members deployed to support a multi-team search with Mountain and Lowland Rescue.
Found alive
Incident 25
South of Weston-super-Mare
Two days of woodland and open-area searching, with bankside searches by the water team.
Not found
Incident 23
Near Bridgwater
Joint response with Exmoor Search and Rescue to a welfare concern.
Found during response
“To preserve and protect life, and to provide an emergency rescue service for the benefit of the public.”
You don’t call us directly. Dial 999 and ask for the Police. If someone is lost or hurt in the hills, on a cliff or in difficult ground, ask for the Police and then Mountain Rescue. The Police decide when to send us.
No. Our members are unpaid volunteers and we never charge the people we help or their families. The team is paid for by donations.
You do. We rely on public donations, sponsorship and local businesses to cover running costs, vehicles and the replacement of worn-out kit. It takes more than £45,000 a year to keep us operational.
No. We welcome applications from all walks of life and train you throughout. You start at a selection weekend, then spend around six months as a trainee learning the core skills.
Yes. Fundraising members are associate members who help raise the money that keeps us going. They are not on call. You need to be 18 or over.
Often, yes. We can support charity abseils and provide rescue cover for some events. Email our fundraising team to ask.
Across Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire and Somerset. We also support neighbouring teams and can be sent further afield when other teams need help.
Every rope, radio and drysuit is bought with donations. A gift today keeps volunteers ready for tonight.
