Privacy Policy
Last updated: 16 August 2026
1. Introduction
4×4 Response UK ("we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. We are a volunteer-led charity that mobilises four-wheel-drive vehicles and drivers to support the emergency services, statutory agencies and voluntary organisations during floods, severe weather and other emergencies.
This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect about you, how we use it, who we share it with, and the rights you have in relation to your information. It applies to information we collect through this website (4x4response.uk), when you volunteer or become a member, when you contact us, when you subscribe to our updates, and when you make a donation.
We are the "data controller" of the personal information you provide, which means we are responsible for deciding how it is held and used. We process personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
2. Who we are and how to contact us
If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your information, or if you wish to exercise any of your rights, you can contact us at:
3. The information we collect
Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect and process the following categories of personal information.
Volunteer and membership information. When you apply to volunteer or become a member, we collect details such as your name, postal address, email address, telephone number(s), details of your vehicle(s) (including make, model and registration), your availability, any relevant skills or training, and an emergency contact. Where you provide it, we may also hold information needed to deploy you safely during an incident.
Contact enquiries. When you use our contact form or email us, we collect your name, email address and any other information you choose to include in your message.
Newsletter and mailing list. If you sign up to receive news and updates, we collect your name and email address.
Donations. If you make a donation, we (or our payment provider) collect the information needed to process it, such as your name, contact details, donation amount and, where applicable, Gift Aid declaration details. We do not store your full card or bank details on our own systems — payments are handled securely by a third-party payment processor.
Technical and usage information. When you visit the website we automatically collect certain information about your device and how you use the site, including your IP address, browser type, pages visited and referring pages. See section 7 (Cookies and analytics) for more detail.
If you provide us with any personal information about other people (for example an emergency contact), you must ensure you have their permission to do so.
4. How we collect your information
We collect information directly from you when you complete a form on our website, apply to volunteer or become a member, contact us, subscribe to our mailing list or make a donation. We also collect some technical information automatically through cookies and similar technologies when you use the website.
5. How we use your information and our lawful bases
Under the UK GDPR we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal information. The bases we rely on are set out below.
To manage volunteers and members — including processing applications, coordinating deployments, contacting you about activities, training and events, and maintaining our membership records. Our lawful basis is the performance of our membership arrangement with you and our legitimate interests in running the charity and responding effectively to emergencies.
To respond to your enquiries — where you contact us, we use your details to reply and deal with your request. Our lawful basis is our legitimate interests in responding to you.
To send newsletters and updates — where you have subscribed. Our lawful basis is your consent, which you can withdraw at any time by using the unsubscribe link in any email or by contacting us.
To process donations and claim Gift Aid — our lawful basis is the performance of our arrangement with you and, for Gift Aid records, compliance with a legal obligation. We keep donation and Gift Aid records for as long as required by HMRC.
To administer and improve our website — including keeping it secure and understanding how it is used. Our lawful basis is our legitimate interests in maintaining and improving our services, and, for non-essential analytics cookies, your consent.
To comply with our legal obligations — for example in relation to charity, tax and accounting requirements.
Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have considered your rights and interests and are satisfied our processing does not override them.
6. Special category information
Some information we hold may be more sensitive (for example, health information relevant to your ability to drive safely in an emergency, or details of an accessibility need). We only collect such information where it is necessary, and we rely on your explicit consent or another appropriate condition under the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018. We handle this information with additional care.
7. Cookies and analytics
Our website uses cookies — small text files placed on your device — to help the site function and to understand how visitors use it.
We use Google Analytics to collect information about how visitors use the website, such as the pages they visit and how long they stay. This helps us improve the site. Google Analytics uses cookies and may process some data (such as your IP address) outside the UK. We only set non-essential analytics cookies where you have given consent.
You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings, and you can withdraw or change your cookie preferences at any time. For more information about the cookies Google Analytics uses, see Google's privacy resources at policies.google.com/privacy.
8. Who we share your information with
We do not sell your personal information. We may share it in the following limited circumstances.
Emergency services, statutory agencies and requesting organisations — when we deploy volunteers in response to an incident, we may share the details necessary to coordinate the response and identify the drivers and vehicles attending.
Within the 4×4 Response network — where relevant, we may share information with local 4×4 Response groups to coordinate membership and deployment.
Service providers — we use trusted third parties to run our operations, such as our website host, email and newsletter platform, payment processor and Google Analytics. These providers act on our instructions and are only permitted to use your information as necessary to provide their services.
Where required by law — we may disclose information if we are required to do so to comply with a legal obligation, or to protect the rights, property or safety of individuals.
9. International transfers
Some of our service providers (such as Google Analytics) may process data outside the United Kingdom. Where personal information is transferred outside the UK, we take steps to ensure it is protected by an appropriate safeguard, such as an adequacy decision or standard contractual clauses, as required by the UK GDPR.
10. How long we keep your information
We keep your personal information only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy.
We keep volunteer and membership records for the duration of your involvement with us and for a reasonable period afterwards. We keep donation and Gift Aid records for as long as required by HMRC (currently at least six years). We keep enquiry correspondence for as long as needed to deal with your query. We keep you on our mailing list until you unsubscribe. When information is no longer needed, we securely delete or anonymise it.
11. How we protect your information
We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse or alteration. Access to personal information is limited to those who need it to carry out their roles within the charity. While we take reasonable steps to keep your information secure, no transmission over the internet can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
12. Your rights
Under the UK GDPR you have the following rights in relation to your personal information:
- The right to be informed about how we use your information (which this policy provides).
- The right of access to the personal information we hold about you.
- The right to rectification of inaccurate or incomplete information.
- The right to erasure of your information in certain circumstances.
- The right to restrict processing in certain circumstances.
- The right to data portability, allowing you to obtain and reuse your information.
- The right to object to processing based on our legitimate interests, and to direct marketing at any time.
- Rights relating to automated decision-making and profiling — we do not carry out automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects.
Where we rely on your consent, you have the right to withdraw it at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdrew your consent.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in section 2. We will respond within one month. There is normally no charge.
13. Complaints
If you have a concern about the way we handle your personal information, please contact us first so we can try to resolve it. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK regulator for data protection:
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF
Helpline: 0303 123 1113
Website: ico.org.uk
14. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with a revised "Last updated" date. We encourage you to review it periodically.
15. Contact us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our handling of your personal information, please contact us at privacy@4x4response.uk (please confirm/replace with your preferred address).