Kent Police made a request to South East 4x4 Response for support to Yalding Community during the extreme flooding that took place following recent rainfall. Over 48 hours South East 4x4 Response volunteers manned the road blocks to advise drivers about the flooding until the waters subsided. There were some incidents where drivers decided to drive through the flooding regardless with vehicles becoming stranded. Some of our team were able to pull the vehicles clear to ensure the routes remained open for those with suitable vehicles. A big thank you to those members of the Yalding community who offered tea, coffee and sustenance also the occasional use of much needed facilities.
Kent Police requested assistance from South East 4x4 Response overnight to localised overnight snow in the Sevenoaks area. Responders assisted the police with the location and transport of "missing" drivers and stood by to ensure the successful recovery of damaged vehicles. Responders also offered traction assistance to vehicles which had become stranded owing to the slippery conditions.
Following a call from Kent Search and Rescue (KSAR) for assistance with transport, two of our Responder teams provided 4x4 support for KSAR volunteer search teams looking for a vulnerable person during the afternoon and evening of New Year's Eve.
South East 4x4 Response volunteers were called to help a bearded elderly gentlemen who was stranded in his delivery vehicle in a snowy, forested area. Our members helped push his sleigh out of the snow as his reindeer were exhausted. Hopefully all parcels were delivered on time. Merry Christmas to all our followers!
Santa has had support from South East 4x4 Response volunteers in both Borough Green and Sittingbourne with transport and sleigh rounds to see the children.
Two of our chainsaw teams were out over night in strong winds and driving rain during Storm Darragh, removing trees blocking roads in different parts of the county, in response to Kent Police requests.
Our trained chainsaw and chainsaw support responders braved Storm Bert on a particularly dark wet windy night to remove a tree blocking a road in Edenbridge, having been called out by Kent Police. A second tree was removed on the following morning by one of our chainsaw responders with the support of Kent Police.
South East 4x4 Response teams were out most of the weekend supporting Kent Search and Rescue (KSAR) along with Kent Police, looking for a missing person in the vicinity of the Sittingbourne area. Transport was provided for the many KSAR search teams along with the search dogs, to and from woodland areas. All were extremely grateful to the Salvation Army who provided sustenance and to the Red Lion in Milstead who were happy for us to use their facilities - a great team spirit from many agencies.
South East 4x4 Response teams were out on both days over the weekend providing transport for Kent Search and Rescue teams who were searching for a missing 16 year old. Although he was not found during the search it was good to hear from Kent Police that he had been found safe and was home with parents. All on the search were grateful to the Salvation Army who served drinks and food through out the weekend.
A wonderful response from visitors to our fundraising stalls at the Sittingbourne Christmas Lights event. Queues formed down the High Street to buy tickets in hope of being one of the many lucky people to win one of our fabulous, very popular, tombola prizes. Our cake stall proved popular too, selling out by the end of the day. Whilst some of the team were manning the fundraising stalls, others were giving out stickers or supporting the Christmas Lights team as marshals for the event. We were, of course, delighted to have a visit from the Mayor.
