Thank you to all our volunteers – you do an incredible job supporting our work! 

To celebrate Volunteers Week (June 2-8), the Angling Trust wants to say ‘Thank You’ to all our incredible volunteers who make a huge difference to angling and their communities. 

Whether you are a Voluntary Bailiff keeping watch on rivers and lakes for fish theft or poaching, helping to clear invasive species from our waters, assisting at a competition or coaching at a Get Fishing event, helping to educate migrant anglers through our Building Bridges project, carrying out water quality testing on your local river for Anglers Against Pollution, taking part in a litter pick as part of our Anglers Against Litter campaign, helping to run one of our fundraising events, or some other voluntary work on behalf of the Angling Trust or Fish Legal, you truly are amazing. 

Once again, the Angling Trust is presenting Volunteering Excellence Awards to those volunteers who have gone the extra mile. Here are the latest recipients: 

Voluntary Bailiffs – Midlands 

Alex Reid 

Alex has been a Voluntary Bailiff for a year and a half and through his passion for angling and fish welfare he has involved himself in many aspects of fisheries enforcement and fisheries protection. He is a regular on joint patrols with the Environment Agency in the East Midlands and worked on a short secondment at the EA Calverton Fish Farm in Nottinghamshire, something he arranged himself directly with staff there. He also volunteered to assist the Fisheries Enforcement Support Service with police training in Newark-on-Trent this year. Due to his knowledge and trustworthiness, Alex has become a ‘go to’ person for the EA Fisheries Enforcement Officers in the area who invite him on patrol routinely. His enthusiasm and initiative in the role make him a worthy recipient of this award. 

Alex Reid (second left) on patrol with the EA and Rural Police. 

Sean Severn

Sean has been a reliable VBS coordinator in Staffordshire for over five years, participating in joint patrols and working closely in partnership with the EA and police over local issues.  He is a regular contributor to the VBS website with reports and has taken the initiative to resolve issues on local fisheries through his work with local councils. He is still a serving RAF officer but finds time to give his time to angling through this role.  He is a worthy nominee and recommend him for this award.

Steve Halford

Steve has been an outstanding member of the Voluntary Bailiff Service since he joined in 2016 and has held the position of Area Coordinator in the East Midlands for several years now.  His consistently high-level of service as a volunteer, working with anglers and fishing clubs particularly in Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, has regularly brough positive comment from fisheries, local authorities, members of the public, wildlife trusts and many more, recognising his commitment to angling and the environment. He is an excellent ambassador for the Angling trust in every way and for this reason he is nominated for his second Volunteering Excellence Award, a feat only achieved by a few volunteers.

Steve Lile

Steve epitomises what it is to be a voluntary bailiff of the highest quality.  His passion and enthusiasm for angling, the conservation of fisheries and the environment, and his dedication to help others to discover fishing, particularly disabled and disadvantaged youngsters, is recognised and respected by many people who work in angling. This respect is shared equally by others from the Environment Agency and Warwickshire Police who have patrolled and worked in partnership with him.  If anyone deserves this second Volunteering excellence Award, it is Steve Lile, for his enduring commitment to making angling a safe and enjoyable way to spend our time.

Voluntary Bailiffs – North West 

Mike New 

Mike is club bailiff for several clubs in the region and puts in regular patrols and incident reports across the North West. He has attended meetings with Regional Enforcement Support Manager (RESM) Adam Wall regarding getting fishing going again at Birkenhead Park and is part of the AT Estuary Water Quality Monitoring Network, whilst also regularly attending joint patrols with the Environment Agency and the Police. 

Mike with EA Fisheries Enforcement Officer Charley Bunce.

Paul Whittaker  

Paul is a club bailiff with Stockport Anglers, and undertakes regular patrols, reporting incidents and taking part in joint patrols. He has also been involved in assisting with the testing of the new Environment Agency reporting app.

Left to right – Paul.W, EA FEO Charley Bunce, RESM Adam Wall, EA FEO Mike Frankland and VBS Mike Rhodes.

Dave Hoggarth 

Dave is one of very few Cumbria Voluntary Bailiffs and the most active. He is club bailiff for Windermere, Ambleside and District Angling Association and provided invaluable help to get the first joint patrol with the Environment Agency in Cumbria off the ground.  

Joint patrol on river Ribble. Left to right – Darren Wilson EA FEO, Dave Brunet VBS (again Ian has nominated him) (Gareth Davies VBS, Dave, Graeme McKee EA FEO, me, Damien Linney EA FEO).

Dave and Mike Rhodes getting their pin badges

Voluntary Bailiffs – East 

Andrew Brumpton and Donatas Dobilas 

Paul Thomas, Regional Enforcement Support Manager for the East of England, was honoured to present Volunteering Excellence Award certificates to two Voluntary Bailiffs who have excelled in the role. Humberside-based Andrew Brumpton and Essex-based Donatas Dobilas were very worthy recipients of these awards for their continued and unwavering support and volunteering effort. Well done both! 

Andrew Brumpton 

Donatas Dobilas 

Voluntary Bailiffs – North East 

Robert Mitchell 

Robert (Bob) has provided continued support and endless hours patrolling the waters around West Yorkshire. Bob has been a Voluntary Bailiff since September 2020 and continually records his daily patrols and incidents. His hours protecting the rivers and canals are in the high hundreds. Be it rain snow or shine, Bob will be out there doing what he feels is important.  

Ian Johnson  

Ian is both Voluntary Bailiff and Area Coordinator who regularly patrols the rivers and ponds in Cleveland but is often seen over the borders in North Yorkshire and Durham. His passion for looking after the environment and rivers sees not only illegal fishing activities being reported but also invasive species.  

Ian recently took on the role of Area Coordinator for Cleveland and acts as the Regional Enforcement Support Manager deputy when necessary. Ian is also a Cleveland Police volunteer and his great connections mean he is ideally positioned to act as a point of contact with the rural officers, special constabulary, and senior management. Ian has also been promoting the new FishNET training system, recently released by the Angling Trust’s Fisheries Enforcement Support Services.  

Christine Mundy 

Although a non-angler, Christine became a Voluntary Bailiff back in May 2022. However, this doesn’t stop her having the same drive and passion that anglers have towards looking after and protecting the environment around the River Leven. Christine is out patrolling most days and records high numbers of patrols and incidents.  

Christine is also an active volunteer for the Tees River Trust, and this award is way of saying a huge thank you from both the Angling Trust and the Environment Agency. 

Voluntary Bailiffs – South West 

Volunteering Excellence Awards go to Gordon Curtis, Chris Lock and Frank Hall. They all receive these awards for the number of patrols and reports over the last year and their enthusiasm for the role . 

Dave Wilkins, Regional Enforcement Support Manager for the South West, also recognised the work of Tim Carr, and Mervyn Beal, who both provide excellent support to our work of enforcement, regularly patrolling and reporting. 

Left – Mervyn Beal    Right – Tim Carr

Voluntary Bailiffs – South East

We’re pleased to announce that the David Fletcher Award, which recognises exceptional dedication, proactivity, and enthusiasm within the Voluntary Bailiff Service, has been awarded to Lubos Grajciarik. 

Regional Enforcement Support Manager Tom Hopes said:  

“Lubos has consistently gone above and beyond in his role as a Voluntary Bailiff. He has shown outstanding commitment to supporting Fisheries Enforcement Officers and fellow VBS members, taking initiative and leading by example. His efforts have included organising litter picks and actively contributing to the protection of our waters. His passion and drive truly embody the spirit of the VBS, and he hopes his example will inspire others to follow in his footsteps. He’s honoured to receive the award and looks forward to seeing who might take it on next year.” 

Fisheries Support 

Phil Waddicor 

Fisheries Officer at Dorking and District Angling Society, Phil is an unsung hero constantly striving for improvements on their existing waters and looking to expand the club. He regularly attends catchment partnerships and is very active and passionate about Water Quality Monitoring Network. 

Dave Brunet 

A valuable Voluntary Bailiff, Dave also continues to run numerous litter picks and was responsible for developing a community angling group – WN3 – in the Wigan Flashes. 

Carl Toner 

Carl built and developed Wallasey Community Anglers alongside tackling litter in a local park – in fact, he has gone as far as obtaining a magnetic wheeled rolling device that collects fish hooks from a footpath to put angling in a good light with dog walkers and other park users. He has also undertaken Institute of Fisheries Management training at his own cost to enhance his skills in fishery development and help improve his community group. 

Duncan Mottershead 

Duncan is the lead voice when it comes to improving Kings William IV Anglers, a community group developed around Boggart Hole. He has installed fish refuges and much more and manages regular litter picks. Duncan also worked with our Get Fishing team as a coach and has gone above and beyond to support members and encourage children into the sport. 

Water Quality Monitoring Network 

Launched in May 2022 as part of the Angling Trust’s Anglers Against Pollution Campaign, the Water Quality Monitoring Network now has 775 trained volunteers from more than 300 angling clubs, who together have submitted nearly 10,000 water samples across England and Wales. Their invaluable work is crucial to our campaign to have healthy rivers, lakes and coastal waters for fish and fishing, and we would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the project’s success. 

This year, we have recognised those volunteers who have gone the extra mile and awarded Volunteering Excellence Awards to Glyn Marshall, Ian Tucker, Kathryn Boler, Peter Solomon, Alastair Logan and Louise Bugg. 

Estuary Water Quality Monitoring Network 

Mike Rhodes 

Mike is both a Voluntary Bailiff and volunteer for the Estuary Water Quality Monitoring Network and provided invaluable support for the Ribble Estuary Pilot Project. His efforts have contributed to the estuary monitoring project now being rolled out nationally. 

• The Angling Trust’s Fisheries Enforcement Support Service, Voluntary Bailiff Service, Fisheries Support Service and Get Fishing work is supported by the Environment Agency and receive funding from the sale of rod licences.