Thank
you for visiting the official Web site for BARB, the Burnham-On-Sea
Area Rescue Boat, in Somerset, UK. BARB is a registered
charity that operates two life-saving rescue hovercrafts and an
inshore rescue boat in the Bridgwater Bay area. This Web site
provides all the latest BARB charity news, launch reports, station
information and fundraising updates. Please
bookmark this site by clicking here.
.Latest
Hovercraft News
Generous
couple make anniversary donation to BARB NEWS
POSTED: 17 November, 2008
A
Burnham-On-Sea couple celebrating their silver wedding anniversary
have turned down gifts from friends and instead made a donation
of hundreds of pounds to the charity that runs the town's
rescue hovercrafts. Valerie and Trevor Hills, from Southern
Lea Road, celebrated their milestone with a party for 40
friends and invited donations for BARB in lieu of presents.
More...
Halloween
bike event is a roaring success for charity fundraisers! NEWS
POSTED: 2 November, 2008
Fun-loving
members of a Somerset motorcycle club raised money for the
Burnham-On-Sea charity that operates the town's rescue hovercrafts
during a Halloween-themed bike ride at the weekend. Members
of Mid-Somerset and South Bristol Motorbike Club roared
off on their machines dressed in seasonal costumes on Saturday
(November 1st) for a ride around Somerset, stopping off
at various venues to collect money for BARB.
More...
Fundraisers
put their best foot forward for hovercraft charity NEWS
POSTED: 29 October, 2008
A
group of energetic fundraisers put their best feet forward
for charity by walking over 800 miles to raise cash for
the charity that runs Burnham-On-Sea's rescue hovercrafts.
Ten members of Southwold Young People's Hostel Association
in Yate, South Gloucestershire, raised £700 by walking
874 miles on step walking machines.
More...
Diamond
Farm pubraisers give bumper donation to hovercraft NEWS
POSTED: 20 October, 2008
A
bumper cheque worth £3,225 has been handed over to
the charity that runs Burnham-On-Sea's rescue hovercrafts.
The
Diamond Farm Pubraisers have collected the funds for BARB,
the charity that runs the life-saving Spirit Of Lelaina
and Light Of Elizabeth hovercrafts, during collections in
Brean over the summer months.
More...
MP
David Heathcoat-Amory visits Burnham hovercraft station NEWS
POSTED: 11 October, 2008
Burnham-On-Sea's
MP visited BARB, the charity behind the town's life-saving
rescue hovercrafts, on Saturday (October 11th) where he
heard about a busy year for the organisation. David Heathcoat-Amory
met crewmembers and was given a tour of BARB's seafront
HQ, which is home to The Spirit of Lelaina and Light Of
Elizabeth hovercrafts.
More...
Hovercraft
pull raises fun and funds at Brean NEWS
POSTED: 29 September, 2008
A
two-mile sponsored pull of Burnham’s rescue hovercraft
through the streets of Brean raised hundreds of pounds for
BARB, the charity behind the life-saving rescue service,
on Sunday (September 28th). The
Light Of Elizabeth hovercraft and its tow truck were tugged
along Coast Road by a hardy group of fifteen country music
fans, led by members of Chevron Country Music Club who organised
the event during Brean’s Country Music Festival.
More...
An
inshore rescue boat crew from Burnham-On-Sea teamed up
with wildlife experts to retrieve two injured swans from
a Highbridge lake on Wednesday evening (September 17th).
East Huntspill's Secret World Wildlife Centre called on
the help of BARB, the Burnham charity that runs a rescue
boat and two hovercrafts, after a walker spotted two birds
struggling in the water at Apex Wildlife Park in Highbridge.
More...
Hovercraft
called out in search for missing six-year-old boy NEWS
POSTED: 30 August, 2008
Burnham-On-Sea's
rescue hovercraft was called out by Coastguards on Saturday
evening (August 30th) to join the search for a six year-old
boy who had been missing for four hours. The Light of
Elizabeth hovercraft, run by Burnham rescue charity BARB,
scoured the tideline along Brean beach from 5pm amid concern
that the boy had walked onto the beach, where the tide
was fast incoming.
More...
Injured
swan rescued by wildlife carers with help from BARB NEWS
POSTED: 13 August, 2008
An
injured swan was retrieved by wildlife carers with the
help of an inshore rescue boat crew from Burnham-On-Sea
on Wednesday (August 13th). East Huntspill's Secret World
wildlife centre was called out when a walker spotted the
injured bird with a fishing hook and line stuck embedded
in its neck on a lake at Locking Pit near Weston-super-Mare.
More...
Two
lifeboats and a Burnham rescue hovercraft were launched
on Saturday evening (July 12th) amid concern for the safety
of a man onboard a yacht that had run aground on the mudflats
at Berrow. Coastguards were alerted when the 23ft yacht,
called Reds, ran aground on the falling tide, leaving
a 40-year-old man stranded onboard.
More...
Hovercraft
rescues mother and daughter from mudflats NEWS
POSTED: 24 June, 2008
A
mother and daughter have been flown to safety onboard
one of Burnham-On-Sea's rescue hovercrafts after becoming
stranded in an inflatable dinghy on the mudflats at Uphill,
near Weston-super-Mare, on Tuesday (June 24th). BARB was
called out by Weston Coastguards at 3pm after the pair
were spotted by the operators of Weston seafront's CCTV
cameras 1,000 metres from the shore.
More...
Stranded
car pulled free from sea on Burnham beach NEWS
POSTED: 2 June, 2008
A
car was hauled from the sea by a team of rescuers in Burnham-On-Sea
on Monday evening (June 2nd) after its owner misjudged
the fast-incoming tide. Volunteers from Burnham-based
rescue charity BARB were called to the beach at 6pm to
pull the stranded vehicle onto the steps of Burnham's
sea wall to avoid it being swamped by the tide.
More...
The
story behind Burnham's 'Spirit Of Lelaina' hovercraft
BARB,
the group that runs the hovercraft, was formed in 1992 when
it began fundraising for its first rescue craft and own
boathouse. In June 1994 Anneka Rice and the BBC TV show
Challenge Anneka came to the rescue, building us
a boat house on Burnham seafront in just 72 hours!
With
the help of a generous grant from The Foundation for Sport
And The Arts, plus donations from local businesses, BARB
was able to purchase the rest of the equipment it needed
in order to become fully operational as a rescue boat service.
Following
the tragic death of five year-old Lelaina Hall in the mud
at Berrow in 2002, the Western Daily Press launched
a hugely successful fundraising campaign which brought in
a whopping £115,000.
This
funded the purchase of a fully-equipped hovercraft - called
The Spirit Of Lelaina - which is now stationed in
the boathouse at Burnham. During its first summer of operation
it helped and rescued up to 50 people. The Western Daily
Press and its readers remain one of the biggest supporters
of the service, raising many thousands of pounds towards
its operation.
.Challenge
Anneka team built seafront HQ in just 72 hours!
How
BBC's Anneka Rice built our hovercraft station...
The
hovercraft station which today houses the Burnham-On-Sea
hovercraft was built in a matter of hours in 1994 during
a flying visit by Anneka Rice and the crew from the popular
BBC TV show Challenge Anneka.
The
group behind the Burnham Area Rescue Boat had been formed
in 1992 when it began fundraising for its own boat house.
In June 1994 Anneka Rice came to the rescue, building a
boat house on Burnham-On-Sea seafront in just 72 hours!
The
BBC's TV crew were on hand to record every part of the rapid
construction and the final TV show was broadcast on BBC1
a few months later in the prime-time Challenge Anneka
show. Click here for
the full story and photos.
.Burnham's
powerful tides in the spotlight on BBC show
The
day BARB helped BBC's Jeremy Clarkson and 'Top Gear'
A
Toyota Futura was left looking rather worse-for-wear after
Jeremy Clarkson and the BBC Top Gear team submerged
it in the sea at Burnham in October 2003!
Crew members from the Burnham Area Rescue Boat (BARB) helped
the BBC crew put the off-road vehicle through a rigorous
challenge by seeing whether the vehicle could survive one
of Bridgwater Bay's notorious storm tides.
The
vehicle was parked on the town's jetty and left to nature's
forces - but, not suprisingly, the sea won and the vehicle
failed miserably! The episode was shown on primetime BBC
television and helped to demonstrate the danger of the tides
along Somerset's coastline. Click
here for the full story and photos.
.Hovercraft
Background
Facts,
figures and photos regarding Burnham-On-Sea's Spirit Of
Lelaina hovercraft:
EMERGENCIES:
If you need urgent help, CALL 999 and ask for the
Coastguard who will summon the hovercraft if needed. OTHER
CONTACTS: Call BARB's Chairman on 07834
635 797. You can also write to us at: BARB, Marine
Rescue Centre, The Esplanade, Burnham, TA8 1BB.
.About
BARB
Click the video above to find out more about BARB's work. Find
out who supports and sponsors Burnham's hovercraft and how you
can get involved - here.
.Donate
to BARB
BARB
is a registered charity that relies solely on donations to run
its service.
Support
us by sending cheques, payable to 'BARB', to BARB at Marine
Rescue Centre, The Esplanade, Burnham, TA8 1BB.
The
beaches at Burnham-On-Sea, Brean and Berrow are among Britain's
most scenic coastal areas, but there are dangers here too. Take
note of these tips:
More
Burnham-On-Sea hovercraft news:
