HUNDREDS of people used an informative open day to learn how to stay safe on the region’s waterways.

About 600 members of the public turned out at Upton Marina in Upton- upon-Severn, near Malvern, on Saturday to pick up tips and see demonstrations from the Mercia Inshore Search and Rescue (MISAR).

The team was formed in April 2005 and the voluntary organisation is dedicated to saving and protecting lives and property in areas surrounding the Severn valley, Avon valley and Wye valley.

From 10am to 5pm they were able to see members of MISAR at work and some of the luckier ones got to enjoy a boat ride to witness potential dangers for themselves.

Dave Walker, team manager, said: “We had quite a good day in terms of people and a lot of safety work was done and we signed up a lot of interested recruits.

“The most important thing was the amount of kids who attended, which allowed us to get the safety message across and we have been able to organise quite a few safety talks with schools.”

He said there are now plans for MISAR to stage more safety days in the future.

The services they offer include lifeboat and inshore rescue boats, swift water rescue, a specialist dive team facility, flooding support, safety cover, water safety presentations and a water-related land search team.