Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service Newsdesk

at 29/02/2008 15:55

Sunday, March 16th - RAF Porthreath
9am to 1pm and 2pm to 6pm.

Fire engines, lorries, tractors, police cars and fork lift trucks are just some of the weird and wonderful vehicles which will be driven by more than 200 ladies at RAF Portreath on Sunday, March 16th.

The 2008 Ladies Driver Challenge is being staged by the Fire Brigade to raise money for the Fire Services National Benevolent Fund. Also taking part will be Devon and Cornwall Police and the County Council’s Road Safety Unit.

“Each person has paid a £10 registration fee and raised a minimum amount of sponsorship to take part “explained Divisional Officer Mark Boeck.

“In return they are given the chance to experience driving a number of different vehicles. This may include handling an HGV, getting stuck in with a digger, JCB, sounding the siren on a fire engine, ambulance or police car or cruising in a combine harvester”.

The vehicles will be set out in five different zones:
1. Fire Brigade vehicles
2. Articulated lorries
3. Coaches and buses
4. Miscellaneous – limousines, police car, ambulance, army trucks, armoured vehicle, Green Goddess
5. Plant, tractors, trailers, fork lift trucks

“The ladies will also have the opportunity to take part in Speed Camera demonstrations, where they will be challenged to drive police cars with blanked out speedometers to see if they can maintain 30 mph” added Mark Boeck.

“There will also be a demonstration of the use of crash rescue equipment”.

All the tickets have been sold for this year’s Ladies Driver Challenge and the Fire Brigade are now taking registrations for the 2009 event which is being staged at RAF Portreath on Sunday, March 29th.

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NOTES TO EDITORS
FURTHER INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE FROM DIVISIONAL OFFICER MARK BOECK, FROM CORNWALL FIRE BRIGADE, ON 01326 212412