David Mills, our CEO, was invited by the Rotary Club of the Weald of Kent to give a presentation explaining the ethos of South East 4x4 Response in supporting our key partners and the communities of Kent. Thank you to the rotary club for their kind donation.

South East 4x4 Response volunteers were on hand during the Leeds Castle National Lottery Day to assist any vehicles which might need traction assistance owing to difficult terrain or slippery car park surfaces. No support was required on this occasion.

The first of three training weekends this year saw current members updating key skills along with refreshing knowledge over one of the two days. New members, attending both days of the weekend, had more in depth training to enable confident beginnings when out on call and attending various events throughout the coming year.

South East 4x4 Response members have been supporting the Heart of Kent Maidstone Run 2025 this weekend with road closures to ensure runners were kept safe on their 5k/10k runs whilst the event took place. We were very thankful for the support given by volunteers from Kent Search and Rescue along with SERV Kent Blood Runners who supported us with the many Heart of Kent Run road closures.

Members from South East 4x4 Response joined Kent Search and Rescue teams for an evening of road search training. A team can provide a safe search zone between two vehicles for a Kent Search and Rescue team undertaking searches along a roadside looking for a person who is missing. Several teams can be out searching a large area of roadsides at any point in the search.

Responders were called out this morning to support Kent Search and Rescue with transport for their teams who were searching for a missing person in the Wateringbury area.

We were pleased to meet 6 lovely people at Mickey's Diner this week who came to find out what we do, ask questions and decide whether they wish to join us. A detailed chat ensued, information given along with application form detail. We are expecting at least 4 to follow through and join us as volunteers once the Kent Police vetting procedure has been processed. Our next Meet n Greet will be on 9 July 2025, time and venue to be confirmed.

We are delighted that two of our members recently achieved the Level 3 Emergency First Aid at Work plus Forestry (RQF) qualification. With thanks to SC First Aid Training for running the course.

This month we held our monthly meeting at the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance facility where our members were fully briefed on the life saving service provided by the air ambulance team to our south east communities. We were also able to view one of the service's road response vehicles. A huge thank you to the air ambulance team for giving us their valuable time to explain what they do.

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.