Bay rescue charity visit for young fundraisers from village school near Carnforth

The school's 'pupil parliament' chose four charities back in September, and the whole school voted as to which they wanted to support, with Bay Search and Rescue winning.

Connor Scrase, who represents Year 4 on the pupil parliament, said: "We live so close to the coast and many of the children play on the sands.

"It's great fun, but you really need to understand the tides and the dangers of getting stuck or isolated."

Gary Parsons, who heads up the Bay Search and Rescue team based out of Flookburgh, offered to let the children go on their new SHERP last week.

The vehicle - the first of its kind in the UK - cost the charity £60,000 and was delivered to the region from the manufacturer in Ukraine two years ago.

Gary said: "We are so grateful to all of our fundraisers, but particularly to the children of Silverdale St John's.

"This year, they have already held a coffee morning, organised Easter activities and are organising a sponsored run at the end of June.

"The children are superstars. It was the least we could do, giving them a memorable ride across the sands."

The new vehicle will more than halve response times for the team across the bay, reaching areas that were previously inaccessible in the fast-moving tides. It will be on call 24 hours a day.