Brighton rescuer Maz Marriott Duty Co-ordinator for East Sussex Wildlife Rescue and Ambulance Service (WRAS) is retiring after 7 dedicated years to the service. Maz has recently been diagnosed as suffering from M.E. and is having to give up his volunteer work on safety grounds.
"Maz started working for WRAS just over 7 years ago" said WRAS’s founder Trevor Weeks, "he helped me out enormously when he first joined as I was almost working on my own back then and struggling to keep on top of calls. Maz took some of the burden off my shoulders and took the phone on 3-4 days a week and became a Duty Co-ordinator."
Maz has been involved in a variety of rescues over the years including attending the Thames Whale rescue, helping out with the oiled birds rescues in Dorset after the Napoli oil spill, helping with a stranded common dolphin at Lancing, as well as attending to seals, deer, foxes, badgers, birds of prey, and all the usual garden and sea birds too. Maz was even featured on the BBC’s Animal 24:7 on Friday 29th February 2008.
Maz has been helping WRAS for the past 7 years and for the last 4 years he has been driving WRAS�s Hove ambulance and been one of the Duty Co-ordinators answering over 7,000 calls for help and been involved in co-ordinating rescues. "Thanks to Maz helping cover, I was able to take my first weeks holiday in over 15 years at Christmas" said Trevor, "we will certainly miss Maz he’s one hell of a character!"
Maz helped WRAS provide coverage to the Brighton area which will now be missing. "We will find it harder trying to cover Brighton as a result, but we are looking at ways in which we can help. We are even thinking of setting up a Wildlife Guardian scheme and recruiting volunteers who can respond to local incidents and take charge until one of our ambulances can arrive from further a field" said Trevor.
Maz will be hanging up his net and swan hook on Thursday 6th March and handing back the WRAS ambulance.
"We’ve all enjoyed working with Maz, he doesn’t mind getting in there and getting his hands dirty. Even when being faced with a deer jumping round and kicking out, Maz has joined in and helped in order to get the casualty rescued and given the treatment which is deserves. We’ll miss him" said Sue Wilkinson, WRAS Chairperson.
If you feel you are able to dedicate time to helping WRAS, please contact us.
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Press Contacts: Trevor Weeks, East Sussex WRAS, 07931 523958 (private)
Maz Marriott, 07976 775 095.
