English Fire Service Bowls Team remember lost colleagues

Hunstanton's Cliff Parade Bowls Club hosted the special match.

The English Fire Service Bowls Team came to Hunstanton on Sunday, 25th May to play Cliff Parade Bowls Club in a charity match with players travelling from afar afield as Oxfordshire and Derbyshire.

It is just one of many games the club play around the country each year raising funds for the Fire Fighters Charity, which provides invaluable support to all the UK’s fire services members and families.

It was a particularly emotional affair as it was the first time the club had played since the terrible tragedy where two fire fighters and a member of the public lost their lives near Oxford recently.

The team are travelling to Northern Ireland in September where they will face their Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish counterparts in a four nations tournament and, whilst the result wasn’t important today, they will take heart from their 115-58 win.

England team spokesperson, Angela Kenny, said, “there aren’t many better locations than Cliff Parade to play bowls and we were keen to use the match to remember our colleagues who sadly passed away recently”.

Hunstanton Fire and Rescue Service were also in attendance to support the event. Stefan Rider, who is Head of People for the Fire Service based in Norwich, led a minute’s silence before the game, saying, “thanks to our bowls team who raise invaluable funds for the Fire Fighters Charity. Today is particularly poignant as it is the first time they have played since we sadly lost two colleagues recently and allows us to honour and respect them, their colleagues, friends and relatives”.

To donate to this very worthwhile cause, please go to www.firefighterscharity.org.uk.