RESCUE volunteers working across Morecambe Bay have been given new recognition for their service.

The team at Bay Search and Rescue revealed on Saturday that they had been given Declared Facility Status by HM Coastguard, further bringing it into the national fold.

They were also recognised as the first independent Mud and Quicksand Rescue team approved by HM coastguard in the UK.

A spokesperson from the charity said: "Anyone that has worked with us knows that we work flat out and are highly motivated team with a track record of getting things done.

"This new Declared Facility recognition is very much focused on our achievements in Morecambe Bay.

"Since our direct involvement in the cockling tragedy twenty years ago this year, we have strived to develop the team, invested in high levels of nationally and internationally recognised training and worked with company’s across Europe researching and acquiring the best equipment possible suited to the ever-changing landscape that is the bay."

Bay Search and Rescue originally formed in the 1990s and became a formal charity registered in England and Wales in 2001.

The team has won various awards since its inception, no more so than The Queens Award for Voluntary Service in 2020 which is the highest recognition awarded for a voluntary organisation.

"We are extremely proud to have received this national recognition from HMCG," said a spokesman.

"Our work in the Bay is what we do best - yes, we rescue people and animals when they are unlucky enough to be caught out by it, but we also protect the Bay from human destruction.

"Thanks [goes] to all the hard work and dedication of each and every team member, and all our members throughout the organisation."

The new title as a Declared Facility means that Bay Search and Rescue are now an officially trusted organisation in the eyes of HM Coastguard, meaning they will be called upon 24/7 as a trusted asset whenever a rescue is needed.