TATTON MP George Osborne joined the Knutsford Community First Responders and members of the North West Ambulance Service at the Jubilee Hall in Knutsford for a recruitment drive to encourage townsfolk to volunteer as a First Responder.

Prospective volunteers at the recruitment drive were surprised with a 'real' emergency and got to see the First Responder Team take action before it was revealed that it was only a drill.

The Knutsford Community First Responders team is a group of volunteers who are trained by and work with the North West Ambulance Service.

Their aim is to preserve life and promote recovery in an emergency situation, before the ambulance arrives. When a member of the public within a five mile radius of Knutsford dials for an ambulance, the duty First Responder is also advised of the call and asked to attend.

George Osborne, who was made an Patron of the charity, said: “The First Responders offer a life-saving service in our town, attending around 800 calls a year. The volunteers represent the best of British values and I am proud to back them. If you are looking for an opportunity to make a real difference then get in touch.”

Adrian Rees, chairman of the First Responders in Knutsford, said the project had been a success, with more than 20 enquiries from Knutsfordians wanting to volunteer.

"It was a fantastic afternoon, obviously capped by George's presence and speech - in which he reminded the audience that he has provided help and guidance to our trust ever since becoming our MP, but also him agreeing to become the Patron of Knutsford Community First Responder Trust," he said.

"I presented him with our 'team colours' and his own trust name badge and also suggested that he might wear this in the House of Commons.

"Colleagues from the North West Ambulance Service also gave a short speech on the importance of having a strong local First Responder Team to increase the survivability of emergency casualties before the arrival of an ambulance plus a description of how they will train First Responder candidates from Knutsford.

"Our current strength is down to only four ECFR's and we need to re-build this to over 15 to meet the current demands of 999 emergency call-outs in our region."