Royal visit shines spotlight on rescue charity

The Princess Royal met search and rescue volunteers in Shropshire, including a woman who became involved with the charity after the death of her husband.

During a visit to the West Mid Showground in Shrewsbury on Thursday, Princess Anne met representatives from West Mercia Search and Rescue and Shrewsbury Men's Shed.

Among them was charity ambassador Kirsty Walsh, who has supported West Mercia Search and Rescue since her husband, Shane Walsh, died after falling into the River Severn in 2017.

She said Princess Anne was "absolutely lovely" and took an interest in how she became involved with the organisation.

"We spoke about how I became involved with the team back in 2017 after my husband, Shane Walsh, fell into the River Severn and lost his life to drowning," she said.

"I was never aware of the team before Shane's tragedy and we went on to create the Home and Dry course in memory of Shane, and try and prevent other families from experiencing the same tragedy as I have."

West Mercia Search and Rescue is called on by police, fire and ambulance services to help locate missing people and support rescue operations.

Princess Anne watched a water rescue demonstration involving the charity's boats, kayaks and bank search teams.

She also met the charity's newly licensed search dog, Farley, along with volunteers who operate quad bikes and drones.

Marcel Lecocq, chair of the charity, said the visit had meant "an awful lot" to volunteers.

"We've got over 100 volunteers, and there's 55 of them here today, it's fantastic that Princess Anne took the time to speak to pretty much everybody and see a water rescue demonstration," he said.

"It's been a huge honour for Princess Anne to visit the team."

The princess also met members of Shrewsbury Men's Shed, a charity where men come together to learn skills including woodwork, metalwork and construction.

Volunteer Matt Tansey said she had shown a genuine interest in the group's work restoring benches and bins around the town.

"She seemed very engaged, genuinely interested and pleasant to talk to," he said.

"She was asking about the bins and how much they've improved the town centre."

Mr Tansey said he had jokingly offered to help after Princess Anne mentioned a fence needing repair on her estate.

"It's all about our profile, we want as many people to know about the shed as possible, this can only raise the profile more," he added.

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