Life-saving Nottinghamshire Police drone donated to search and rescue team

The force’s drones’ unit is in the process of upgrading some of its life-saving, crime-fighting aerial equipment and has decided to hand one of its current drones, which is now surplus to requirements, to colleagues at the Nottinghamshire Search and Rescue Team (NSART).

The thermal-image-capable aircraft will enable volunteer rescuers at the charity to make aerial searches in the dark – something they are currently unable to do.

Police drone pilots will also be offering enhanced training and support as part of the deal.

Chris Newton, NSART drone team lead, said: “The donation to the team has greatly increased our drone capabilities, allowing us to deploy drones alongside our foot teams after dark. This aerial support will improve our search efficiency and will help us to save lives.

“The drone they have donated to us is the same model we have been hoping to buy ourselves but simply don’t have the funds available. By giving us the ability to extend our aerial searches after sunset this really is game changing for us.”

PC Vince Saunders, chief drone pilot at Nottinghamshire Police, said: “The search and rescue team are all volunteers with a wide range of experience and expertise.

“They have supported the police for nearly 10 years and since the force's drones unit was formed in 2020 we have also worked closely with them on a couple of jobs.

“The drone we are donating has an advanced thermal imaging camera attached to it which is capable to identifying missing people in the dark.

“I have no doubt that it will be put to excellent use in the coming years and am delighted we have been able to offer some support to this outstanding charity.”

NSART regularly works in partnership with Nottinghamshire Police to assist with searches for high risk and vulnerable missing people.

The team is a former beneficiary of the chief constable’s charity fund.

In June 2020 the team was supported by a police drone pilot to locate and rescue a badly dehydrated man who had spent five days in the open air before he was found in a dense wooded area near Sutton Bonington.

The force’s drone unit, a shared resource with Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, operates six drones of varying sizes and is available to carry out responsive and pre-planned operations across the county 24 hours a day.

Its team of 17 volunteer pilots operate a fleet of six drones, three of which are able to track vehicles using high powered zoom cameras.

The team now has smaller support drones with improve thermal capabilities and the ability to stay in the air for longer.

NSART are available to respond to the police 24 hours a day 365 days a year to help search for vulnerable missing people.

NSART is a registered charity that relies on public donations to carry out its life saving work.

As well as supporting the police they also have a secondary objective to help the local community in times of crisis – such as flooding.

The team has also been busy during the Covid-19 epidemic – delivering PPE to front-line services and getting medication to patients.