People & Places

Give us your full name and nicknames!

Trevor Weeks

Tell us what you do for a living

County Rescue Co-ordinator for East Sussex Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance Service.

The town or village where you live?

Uckfield, Seaford and Eastbourne or the back of my ambulance depending on what I'm up to!

How would your friends and family describe you?

They wish I was more regimented in what I do and had a more 9 till 5 job and they knew where I was a bit more often. I work part time for British Divers Marine Life Rescue where my girlfriend works and she sees more of me at work than she does outside of work. With my family, Sue is very supportive of my voluntary work and I could not do this without their help and support.

What is your greatest achievement to date?

That after 23 years of undertaking wildlife rescue and conservation work I am still going and haven't burnt myself out yet!

Some of the most successful rescues have included the capture and release of a bottlenose dolphin from a marine in Cumbria. Others have been the capture of very lively stags caught in rope or netting and managing to rescue and free them. I've seen WRAS grow from a small one man band to a charity with three veterinary ambulances and now our new Horsebridge Casualty Care Unit, which I never thought would happen.

What was the worst moment of your life?

Personally my worse moment was the lose of my mum to cancer when I was 21.

However, my voluntary work helped me through.  As far as WRAS is concerned the worst casualty was a fox found under a shed which had burnt down suffering from 40% burns. Burns cases are horrible and I always wish I could help them better. This poor fox died whilst on way to the vets.

I also hate the non-caring people we meet on rescues, who don't care about animals who say "you should be helping children not animals". I support several human charity which help prevent suffering.

I hate any animal suffering be that a human, wildlife, domestic animal or agriculture animal. The police closed a road whilst we rescued a deer recently and a motorist had a go at the police for doing so saying "its only an animal" - despite the fact that if the deer had jumped up and run across the road it could have caused an accident if the traffic had not been stopped!

Apart from friends and family, what do you love most about your life?

I love Sussex as a county, there are some wonderful people and some very caring people in the county. We also have some wonderful supporters and volunteers which help our charity too.

We also have such a diverse range of habitats in this country from the downland and high weald to the rock pools and foreshore of the coast, the river estuary and flood plains to reed beds, water meadows and woodland.  We have a rich population and diversity of wildlife across Sussex too.

Family and pets excluded (of course!), what item would you save first in a house fire?

My mobile phone as everything else is material and can be replaced. I need my mobile to ensure I can do my rescue work, and I suppose I better take my ambulance keys too!

Describe your favourite local place, to someone who has never been there.

Although I've not been there for many years as I always seem to be too busy, but on the coast along the seven sisters cliffs there is a small memorial stone. I used to love sitting there and just listening to the sea and the sounds of the birds. Its so tranquil and relaxing.

But there are many nice places around Sussex. I'm living at the Sussex Horse Rescue Sanctuary and the view from my flat is across the fields and I can watch the deer and the horse, pigs, chickens and donkeys having a great time running free.

Tell us how your area has changed since you have lived there.

When I first started undertaking wildlife rescue work there were individuals running wildlife hospitals from their homes in most towns across Sussex, now only two of them survive.

We used to find that out of a married couple one person would work and the other stayed at home and was able to do voluntary work. Now both the husband and wife need to work in order to pay the mortgage and therefore there is a lack of volunteers available like there used to.

No one seems to have much common sense either these days and we are changing into a world where everything has to be spelt out and signs telling us not to do stupid things like not to use a hair drier in the shower for example.

And have you noticed policemen and women are getting younger!!!

If you could change one thing about the place where you live, what would it be?

To change everyone to eating either a vegetarian, vegan or at least organic and free range diet. This is more healthy and causes less suffering to animals and helps fight global warming too.

If money were no object, what would you change in your life?

I would open a fully functioning wildlife rescue veterinary centre, replace our veterinary ambulances with ones which don't break down so often and expand our service to cover a bigger area and help more animals.

I would also look at helping other animal charities and human charities to help them fight suffering.

How would you spend your ideal weekend?

With my girlfriend! I don't do it often enough and I really miss her when I'm not able to see her. I love visiting historic houses and buildings like castles and monuments. I find it fascinating how people used to live and that where you visit people have been for thousands of year.

Trevor Weeks got The Third Degree on 13th March 2008.

WRAS is currently looking for sponsors and donations to help purchase another veterinary ambulance. The Rescue line number is 07815 078234.

Visit the official WRAS website to find out more about their work, or to make a donation.

There are two steps to the getting the Third Degree!

1) Complete the form and submit it to us for close examination under hot lights!

2) Email us your photo.  

The BBC is not responsible for, neither does it share, any of the views expressed here.