A recently-formed volunteer organisation has gained a remarkable 900 members in just a few months. Drone SAR for Lost Dogs, Isle of Wight, is part of the UK group which has more than 100,000 members among its ranks. Mikey Lewis, of Newport, is one of the co-ordinators and drone pilots, who helps Suzzy Lee run the Island’s division, which was only launched in June.

Mikey said: “We keep a close eye on social media posts on Lost Dogs IoW and community notice boards. If we see someone is worried about their lost dog we try and contact them and ask them if they would like us to help, but we must have their permission.

“We then send out a private message in our group to see what team we can get together. The drone pilots co-ordinate because they can see what is going from the air and then liaises with the field co-ordinator on the ground.

“We have two thermal drones for night-time, because they can detect body heat and around 10 standard drones for use during the day.

“We have worked on several high-profile rescues already on the Island, including the case of Hollie, a nine-year-old La-Chon who ended up stuck in a drain, which the IW Observer reported on last week.

“Another was Boo, a greyhound who went missing for six days. Our first sighting of her was in Gunville, and 15 minutes later she was in Parkhurst Forest – that’s how fast she was! We eventually managed to coax her to safety at a farm in Rew Street, Cowes.

“Our work-load varies and changes all the time and we have to work over so many terrains. On the mainland, it’s mainly street searches, but here we have beaches, cliff tops, hills and woodland.

“But we’re a really dedicated team and all do it for our love of animals, which makes it worthwhile.”