THIS week saw the 10th anniversary of the worst air disaster the UK has ever seen - when the Pan Am plane was blown out of the skies over Lockerbie.

For a Stainforth man, the anniversary was particularly poignant, as Andy Colau was there as a volunteer search and rescue dog handler and member of the local Cave Rescue Organisation.

"On entering the town of Lockerbie, there was an eeriness, quiet, the road littered with debris. The next is history. I could say much about those victims, how they were found and where. I think it only respectful to their lives to say nothing," said Andy.

But something good came out of the experience as Andy decided to train his search dogs specifically for UK disasters, be it a flood, aircraft accident or structural collapse.

Soon afterwards, Andy and two other handlers founded K-9 Search and Rescue, now a registered charity.

He said: "The organisation, although small, covers the whole of the UK when disasters happen, or when people in urban areas go missing. Since August this year K-9 has been very busy including the search for the missing newlyweds at the Strid, Bolton Abbey."

Now K-9 wants to strengthen its lifesaving search resources and wants to hear from experienced rescue/medical people with an interest in dogs - Andy can be contacted through the Herald.

"To all sceptics I would say, remember that search is an emergency and finding the missing person sooner rather than later may save a life. We in K-9 can do nothing for those who are dead, but we can do so much for the living."

On Monday Andy returned to Lockerbie to pay his respects to those who died, those who helped and those who still grieve.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.