D URING the last thirty years in North Devon I've witnessed two inspired campaigns to save the Search and Rescue helicopters at Chivenor from closure or downgrading.

So I expected there'd be a similar response to the latest threat. In fact it has developed on a scale and intensity that must surely surprise and impress the Government. Nevertheless the risk that we could lose this battle is greater than ever.

A recession more damaging than most of us have previously witnessed offers ministers the ready excuse to make cuts wherever they decide. The big fear, of course, is that not only do we become more vulnerable at night if A-Flight (22 Squadron) is restricted to daylight flying, but that this will be the thin end of a wedge and the flight could be taken away altogether or be handed over to private operators.

It would be a huge loss to North Devon to see the RAF disappear completely. I've been lucky to go on board with crews that flew the old Wessex helicopter before it was phased out, and then by those who man the newer Sea Kings. I've seen the meticulous care and preparation that goes into each mission, and met some of the grateful people who owe their lives to the pilots, navigators and winchmen of Chivenor.

The squadron's original role, or so I was told, was to answer the call when any RAF aircraft got into trouble and to ensure crew members were brought back dead or alive. That grew into a responsibility for civilians too, ranging from drowning seafarers to women in labour, and from surfers to the former leader of the Liberal party, and MP for North Devon, Jeremy Thorpe, who once had to be lifted to safety when cut off by the tide.

But the question that always arises when our economy dips is whether it would be cheaper if civilian rescues could be carried out by helicopters run by a private company, in effect de-nationalising the flight. I'm sure any number of accountants could make the case for such "efficiencies" and that hard-pressed ministers would latch onto it immediately as a way to meet their spending targets. But it would be a false economy.

We see time and again the way de-nationalising our essential services seems to all but cripple them. The railways were one example of what became a chaotic and disjointed system which has taken years and billions of pounds to try to put right. I reckon we could also learn much from examining closely what we lost by putting our public utilities into private hands.

A privately-run helicopter rescue service might at first offer to save public money, but I'm sure it would seem to any future government far more acceptable to axe such an operation in private colours than one that bears the RAF emblem. No date has been set for a decision about 24-hour cover and it might be that it will follow a general election.

So as we hope that all the personal pleas to Defence Minister Quentin Davies are taken seriously by Whitehall, it's time also to lobby the other parties and their candidates for support. We can only hope that a cynical minister wouldn't try to win votes by offering some other part of Britain the iconic and reassuring sight in our skies of the rescue helicopters that, in the big picture of public finance, cost a fraction to maintain.

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ROMANCE has emerged as one of the many reasons to anticipate some kind of transformation of Barnstaple's Inn on the Strand. The building's stained and neglected architecture hinted of better days, and I'm grateful to reader Robin Harman for painting us a delightful picture of the building's heyday. He tells me that he and Mrs Harman are celebrating 50 years since their courtship began there in the early 1960s. Back then it was called The Bell Inn and enjoyed a reputation as the fashionable venue among Barnstaple's young diners.

Mr Harman remembers "chefs cooking lovely steaks on a large open grill visible to the customers." He continues: "When we returned 'home' to Barum in 1998 we were saddened to see how The Bell had been allowed to deteriorate and we hope that something is now being done which may see it returned to its former glory."

Well, congratulations to Mr and Mrs Harman and anyone else who has such an anniversary to celebrate in 2010. There must be many more of you who recall those better days, and perhaps you'll let me know of your memories.