Firefighters at the rescue team's base. Photo: Central Beacons MRT

A mountain rescue team has been left devastated by a fire at its base that destroyed one of its vehicles and badly damaged two others.

The Central Beacons team was alerted by South Wales Fire and Rescue Service shortly after 8.30pm on Saturday after smoke was seen coming from the building at Dowlais near Merthyr Tydfil.

A team spokesperson said: “We assisted fire officers with gaining access into our building where a fire was discovered and we are indebted to the bravery and professionalism from the guys at Green Watch, Merthyr Tydfil Fire Station.

“The fire has destroyed our control vehicle and severely affected both 4×4 response vehicles.

One vehicle was destroyed and two others badly damaged. Photo: Central Beacons MRT

“We will continue to provide as good a search and rescue service as we can through this very difficult and challenging period and we’re very grateful for the support of our neighbouring rescue teams in helping us with this.

“We’re also grateful for all your offers of help from across the communities, although our first step has to be to await the results from our insurance assessors and only once that’s known will we be able to plan our fundraising strategy for replacement vehicles and equipment.”

The team’s unpaid volunteers cover the central area of the Brecon Beacons, including south Wales’s highest mountain Pen y Fan, Cribyn and Corn Du as well as the Ystradfellte waterfalls.