Dozens of emergency services came together for a grand day out at the headquarters of the Western Daily Press-backed Burnham Area Rescue Boat yesterday.

Burnham's mayor Derick Cooper opened the event, and within the hour, the crowds saw a mud rescue exercise involving Burnham's hovercrafts and coastguards. It was a chance for more than 30 different emergency groups, from cave rescuers to police dogs, to show the public what they could do.

Inside the boathouse, the story of how readers of our sister paper the Western Daily Press backed a campaign to raise money to buy a hovercraft in memory of five-year-old Lelaina Hall, was described in a series of storyboards. They pledged tens of thousands of pounds to buy the hovercraft, which has since gone on to save many lives over the years.

Event organiser Roger Flower said: "This year's event was even bigger than before, we had many more rescue services involved and there were many exciting demonstrations to watch. It's a great opportunity to see our local emergency services at work and support them."