Recognition for Angus's volunteer first responders

The 12 locals, who all volunteer as Community First Responders with the charity, were recently surprised with the awards at one of their regular training sessions.

Ricky Laird, Community Resilience Team Leader from the Scottish Ambulance Service, presented seven of the volunteers with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal in recognition of their service of five years or more.

A further five volunteers were presented with the Queen’s Jubilee Coin, in recognition of their service of less than five years.

As Community First Responders, the volunteers are trained by the service to respond to life-threatening emergencies across the county.

They are on call on a regular basis, and are tasked with responding to a wide range of emergency incidents, including cardiac arrest.

Ricky said: "Our Community First Responder volunteers in Angus do a fantastic job, reaching potential life-threatening emergencies in the first vital minutes before the ambulance crew arrives. I’m therefore really pleased their service has been acknowledged with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal and Platinum Jubilee Coins.

It was my honour to present them with their awards, as we are very grateful for their dedication and hard work in saving lives."

Lynn Lawrence, community first responder co-ordinator in Angus, also received special recognition for her contribution, with no less than three further awards.

Lynn, from Carnoustie, was presented the Scottish Ambulance Service 10 year service pin, in recognition of her service since becoming a Community First Responder in 2012.

In the same week, she received the news that she is to be awarded the Royal Lifesaving Society’s UK Merit Honour award and UK Service Honour award. She will be presented with these awards at a ceremony in Coventry in October.

Sandy Bowman, chair of St John Scotland in Angus & Dundee, said: "I wish many congratulations to all the recipients of these awards and I am really proud and appreciative of all that they do for our local communities.”

"The fact that the eligibility criteria for the award of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal specifically includes volunteers working with the emergency services, demonstrates the high esteem of the voluntary activities undertaken by our Community First Responders in the Angus & Dundee area.

“They perform a crucial role in the communities in which they operate in Angus, providing prompt responses to medical emergencies where time is of the essence. It’s a great example of

St John Scotland’s ethos of ‘saving lives together’, and real teamwork in action for the benefit of the community. These awards are a real credit to all of the team and of course a great effort by all involved in respect of the aims of St John Scotland.”