HUNDREDS of visitors welcomed in the beginning of a new era as Rossendale and Pendle Mountain Rescue Team opened its new base.

The charity, staffed by 37 volunteers, held a family fun day to launch its new satellite site in Farrington Court, Burnley, on Saturday.

Fundraising for the three newly acquired units, which will house three vehicles, equipment and a training room, started 30 years ago.

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More than £130,000 has been raised in the latest push, which team leader Pete Goble said would reduce response times to areas with frequent call-outs, such as Pendle Hill.

He said: “We’re getting a bit more professional, which is great.

“We’re going to keep a vehicle in Haslingden so all this does is spread us around a bit more. At least now we know that vehicles are going to start responding a little bit faster.

“Shaving off seven or eight minutes on a job can be a long time if someone is poorly.

“On Saturday, we gave demonstrations of CPR and we’ve got defibrillators on all the vehicles.

“We showed people our water capability, the rope rescue work and basically showed people where their money has gone.”

The team, which covers Burnley, Pendle, Rossendale, Blackburn, Hyndburn and parts of Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire, will retain its main base in Clegg Street, Haslingden.

Former team leaders Dave Barrington and Peter Durst performed the opening ceremony, which included refreshments and Mr Goble, who has volunteered with the group for 17 years, praised the people of East Lancashire for their fundraising over the past three decades.

He said: “One of the big things is the existing team members, the guys who have turned up from 30 years ago. They raised the money for this.

“We raise money all the time to keep the team going but this new base fund started 30 years ago until recently when we had enough to buy the units outright.

“In 30 years’ time this will need replacing so straight away we’re raising money for the next generation. We can’t sit back now and think that our mission is over, because it’s not.”

Chairman Andy Simpson added: “The new base will give us a secure environment to house equipment and vehicles, provide a larger training area to keep our skills up-to-date and improve our response times to the northern part of our operating area.”