A VOLUNTARY response team which provides first aid in Worcester city centre on mountain bikes has a new home.

Members of the All Terrain Bike Response Unit (ATBRU) help to handle emergencies in Worcester and Malvern.

Trained volunteers are able to respond to anywhere within a 1.5-mile radius of the city centre within eight minutes and are fully equipped with the latest medical kit.

The team, which originally started in 2009, now has a search and rescue station in Shrub Hill Industrial Estate.

The charity was set up using lottery funding as a response to an incident on the Malvern Hills during heavy snowfall.

We previously reported how seven cyclists from clubs across Worcestershire passed a specialist course which gives them a unique set of skills to help them cope with first aid emergencies on the road.

As well as their duties in Worcester, the team works alongside West Midlands Ambulance Service and provides cover at events in the Malvern Hills.

There will be riders in Malvern every weekend between now and the end of the summer.

Fund-raising manager Stephany Bowley said: “The bikes are fully equipped and able to deal with the difficult terrain, particularly in Malvern.

“We are trying to get more riders and volunteers so we can staff the new station and have people out on bikes in Worcester and Malvern.”

The new station in Shrub Hill will be opened by Worcester Mayor councillor Mike Layland on Saturday at 10.30am.

The team will be running several displays. For more details, visit atbrusar.org.