Winter support continues

St John Ambulance has been supporting local communities around the country since Thursday 17 December because of the adverse conditions.

In the last 24 hours four rest centres were set up in Basingstoke and Alton in Hampshire for people snowed out of their homes, with St John Ambulance providing blankets and transporting people home where possible.

The charity has also been supporting ambulance services, with ambulances and crew in London, the home counties and areas as far north as South Yorkshire.

Volunteers making a difference

Rayne Sutcliffe, a St John Ambulance volunteer from South Yorkshire, said: ‘We’ve been doing 10 and 12 hour shifts over the last few days picking up and taking patients home in 4x4 ambulances, where normal ambulances can’t get through.

'We have crew out all over Christmas and into the new year including Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve but it’s a pleasure to assist all concerned – it’s why we volunteer.’

One crew in Hampshire was asked to check a group of five children at a rest centre in Basingstoke, while another volunteer was asked to take an 80-year-old woman to her home once the worst of the snow had subsided.

Pride in the organisation

Pat Morris, Commander of St John Ambulance Hampshire, said: ‘We have a modern fleet of ambulances and highly trained members.

‘We were happy to help and I am so proud of our members who gave up their time on a freezing cold night to help people stranded by the weather.

‘As well as the excellent crews on the road, we had a team of people manning the phones and organising our response.’