HELP is set to be on hand in times of emergency following the launch of a volunteer network.

The North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum unveiled Ready for Anything at the York Centre for Voluntary Service recently.

More than 30 people attended the event, including emergency service representatives, newly-recruited volunteers and people affected by the 2015 flooding.

Tom Knox, head of resilience and emergencies at North Yorkshire County Council, said: “A number of recent incidents have highlighted the need for additional support for emergency responders.

"We want to harness the public desire to help our neighbours and communities.

“Ready for Anything is a huge opportunity for volunteers across the whole of North Yorkshire to engage with and support the collective response to any emergency. We’d love to hear from people and businesses who are interested in joining us.”

Ready for Anything volunteers provide practical support, helping the emergency response during an incident.

"People do not need to make a regular commitment, but volunteers will be notified when there is an emergency and if they are able to help, they can confirm by text message."

The Deputy Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police, Phil Cain, said “During the Boxing Day floods of 2015 we were faced with a number of challenges which had considerable impact on our communities. We did not have a clear process for embracing the many offers of help we received from volunteers.

“Collectively we have learned lessons from our experiences in 2015 and Ready for Anything now allows us to embed volunteers in our core response to any significant incident in North Yorkshire.”

People who are interested in joining the Ready for Anything team of volunteers can register online at emergencynorthyorks.gov.uk/readyforanything