From pushing a double-decker bus through the snow to giving a bride a lift to her wedding – volunteering with South East 4x4 Response can be an unpredictable business.

But as Alan Moles from the team explains, that’s part of the excitement and fulfilment in getting Kent moving, when freezing weather or storm-fronts bring the county to a halt.

Launched in the winter of 2008/2009, the team began as a transport service in adverse weather conditions, ferrying doctors, nurses and midwives around the county and delivering meals on wheels – but now operates as the county’s “official 4x4 response group”, working alongside emergency services and responding to around 60 call-outs per year.

Now South East 4x4 Response is hoping to boost its membership, having seen numbers dwindle from around 90 to 70 in recent years – something Alan attributes to less regular spells of bad weather.

The milder weather theory might be true, but he says the team needs to bolster its ranks to be ready when they are called out – which can’t be easily predicted - and is not always due to snow or storms.

While the team hit the headlines for helping snowbound vehicles around the county 2018, a few years later they were in the news for delivering bottled water to the residents on Sheppey due to a water shortage, and they’ve also helped out by providing welfare during Operation Stack.

“When we did Operation Stack we were working for days and days,” he explained. “You need to do it shifts because people are volunteers and have day jobs, so you're backing people up with more people.”

And when the bad weather does hit, the team still needs to be at full strength to carry out its vital work, he explained.

“The weekend is not so bad, but if it’s midweek where you keep getting snow upon snow and it gets icy, people still need to get to work, or if you get a storm come through, we could easily be out for 24/48 hours, so we need more members to make things happen.

“We could be all over Kent. If a storm hits Kent there's not 30 members on Blue Bell Hill - there's five members on Blue Bell Hill, five members at Detling, five members at Ashford - you're trying to get members all around.”

In 2017 the 4x4 group was granted policing powers under Section 38 of the new Policing and Crime Act, allowing them to direct traffic – freeing up police patrols, and allowing the team to deal with incidents such as fallen trees, broken down vehicles and vehicles trapped during bad weather.

Other incidents include helping out when storms swept across the county on Christmas Eve 2013, leaving parts of Kent – Yalding in particular – badly flooded.

The 4x4 team carried out critical work, evacuating vulnerable people from their homes, and rescuing stranded vehicles, whilst those trained in using chainsaws were sent to clear roads of fallen trees and debris.

Another unusual situation saw the group help out when icy conditions threatened to force Walderslade couple Laura Fillery and Jesse Blackford to cancel their wedding. Instead, the wedding was able to go ahead when the couple switched venues from All Saints’ Church in Boxley, to the Bridgewood Manor at Walderslade Woods, and South East 4x4 Response provided the official transportation.

While the volunteer work is fulfilling in itself, Alan explained there’s also a fun side – with most of the group being 4x4 enthusiasts who enjoy testing and improving their skills.

“Yes we like our 4x4s but we're there to volunteer,” he said. “You're supporting different groups of people and communities across Kent.

“There’s also the ability to do some training. We get access to Kent Police College so we learn a bit about ourselves and vehicles. We learn about radios and things like that, so there are a range of skills that are needed, especially if you're an outdoorsy type of person.

“There's a good social side to the group as well, and we do quite a few of the events around Kent. I just did the County Show and you get to know people.

“I think with any volunteering, firstly you want to volunteer and then you choose a volunteer group that resonates with your interests.”

He recalled how some of the most fulfilling work had been helping people in dire situations – such as an elderly lady whose car had broken down in the snow.

“One time we were up Blue Bell Hill and this old lady was absolutely distraught,” he said. “All the recovery services couldn't get to her. We were getting the traffic going because a couple of the lorries had got stuck, but she was left by herself, so we put her in one of our cars so she got warm.

“She was quite upset and her husband was worried, and it got to about midnight and we just said look we'll take you home to Sittingbourne. It was the look on her face.

“It was the same when there was a woman walking up Blue Bell Hill. She was at the bottom and it was midnight, it was snowing. It was cold and wet. We said ‘where do you live, we'll give you a lift home. Here's our police pass, so you can see who we are’ - it’s the appreciation that makes it worthwhile.”

To find out more and contact the team visit southeast4x4response.org

Team members don’t need to own 4x4 vehicles – and the group is also looking out for support staff, control staff, and people who can help with fundraising.