‘Dragalo’ teams take to the water to raise funds for rescue group

» A NEW search and rescue service in the Cotswolds has been turning heads this week as it aims to raise £5,000 in a green, dragon-shaped pedalo.

The funds will be to help the Severn Area Rescue Association, which has launched a rescue station in Cirencester called SARA Cotswolds. Based at Cirencester Fire Station, it will focus on land searches for missing people.

Several crew changes took to the River Severn and the Sharpness canal in the pedalo, christened Dragalo. In total, the team ended up having pedalo-ed 71.5 miles.

They launched last Thursday from Stourport-on-severn, SARA’S most northerly station, and made landfall at Beachley on Monday. With stops and crew changes at Worcester and Upton upon Severn, they peddled through Tewkesbury along the way, later making an eye-catching entrance at Gloucester Docks.

A SARA Cotswolds spokesperson said: “This new base will make a significant improvement to our ability to search for and find missing people in the Cotswolds and eastern part of Gloucestershire. We’re very grateful to GFRS for making suitable facilities available and we look forward to meeting and getting to know the local community over the coming months.”

You can make donations by visiting justgiving.com and searching for ‘dragalo’.