Brecon Mountain Rescue Team has set a target date of February 2023 for the construction of their new £1.1million headquarters to begin.

The emergency service has been based at its current location since 1991, but plans were put into place ten years ago to move the group into a newer building - as the demand for its service grew.

The team is trying to raise £1.1 million for the new location and says that it is closing in on the target.

Graham Bailey, who has volunteered with the service since 1984, said: “We started fundraising about ten years ago, we managed to build the finances from there internally - we are getting there - but there is still room to go.

‘We’ve got to get to the £1.1m and we have raised over 75 per cent of the funds.

“It was identified as a plan ten years ago, any excess funds went into the pot, and it has built from there.”

Graham’s wife, Avril, added: “We are going to start building with whatever funds we’ve got in February, and we reckon it will take 12 months from there to build.”

The service currently has 55 volunteers that are on call 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.

This year they’ve been busier than ever, assisting Dyfed-Powys Police 84 times, Swift Water Rescue Team twice, and taking part in nine missing person searches.

This level of servitude has left the people of Brecon and mid Wales keen to support the team’s push for a new headquarters - with many local businesses and people fundraising.

Recently, Indian restaurant and takeaway, Zeera, held a dinner to help the Mountain Rescue Team fundraise that was organised by Avril, raising a total of £823.

“The evening at Zeera was amazing, their food was lovely and there was plenty of it.

“We had half the funds from that, and the rest covered the cost of the dinner.

“A raffle was held to raise some more money for the headquarters from that too.

“All in all, it was a lovely evening, with a beautiful atmosphere that we all enjoyed,” said Avril.

The 67-year-old stressed the importance of these evenings to the Brecon and Radnor Express, praising the local community in the process

Avril said: “Because the Brecon Mountain Rescue Team gets no financial support from any government service, they rely on public donations, the people who support us in and around Brecon are so good.”

The squad are currently trying to raise £99,999 through public donations to support their push for the new headquarters.

If you wish to support the appeal you can donate at www.gofundme.com/f/bmrt-new-hq-999.