AFTER jointly volunteering for Lye’s Midlands Air Ambulance Charity for more than 15 years, four friends have been honoured with a community excellence award.

Yvonne and David Smart, Cathy Glear and Mary Nicholls have to date raised more than £45,000 to help air ambulance missions across the region.

The foursome were given a West Midlands Ambulance Service Excellence in the Community Award at a recent event in Brierley Hill in recognition of their years of fundraising.

During the ceremony at The Copthorne Hotel, the volunteers were praised for their “incredible dedication to helping others”.

The ceremony honoured a number of members of the public who have gone beyond the call of duty to help save lives and support the work of the ambulance service’s 4,500 staff.

Also recognised at the ceremony were community first responders (CFR) – volunteers who are trained to attend emergency calls received by the ambulance service and provide care until the ambulance arrives – as well as St John Ambulance, other emergency services and other voluntary organisations, businesses and individuals.

Paul Grove, a CFR in the Black Country was asked to attend an emergency call to a male in cardiac arrest in a supermarket in Stourbridge.

He was on scene within minutes and delivered the first shock from his defibrillator prior to the paramedic arriving on scene. The shock was successful and Paul continued to assist the paramedic.

The patient made a good recovery and Paul received a glowing comment from paramedic Lee Farley who said: “As you know I am a great fan of our CFRs and very proud of Paul and his swift response which in this case has made a fantastic outcome.”

Addressing the audience at the ceremony, Anthony Marsh, West Midlands Ambulance Service’s chief executive, said: “It is a great opportunity for all of us to celebrate the excellent work that you all do every single day of the year. It is truly, truly outstanding.

“All of our staff and all of our volunteers being the best they can be will result in better patient outcomes and saving more lives.”