PEOPLE needing help in the deepest parts of West Devon will benefit from a new addition to the team at Tavistock's ambulance station, writes Alan Gregory.

The public relations department of the Westcountry Ambulance Trust has given its four-wheel-drive LandRover to Tavistock to help increase the service's effectiveness in reaching people stranded off the beaten track.

The LandRover was originally bought to tow the service's publicity unit. It was converted into an ambulance so that anyone needing treatment at the various events it attended could be dealt with quickly while awaiting the regular ambulance.

But it was felt to be a waste to use the vehicle for only a few days each year, so it has been given to Tavistock on permanent loan. It will still be called upon to attend events like the Devon Show, but will otherwise be available for West Devon 24-hours a day.

Paramedic supervisor John Barber said: 'Tavistock is an extremely busy station for its size and covers a huge area.

'We do a lot of off-road work, a lot of jobs in farms, and sometimes access can be difficult.

'We have the helicopters, but they are not always immediately available — sometimes because of the weather, sometimes because they are busy elsewhere.

'So the purpose of having this vehicle is to access people in difficult locations using the four wheel-drive.'

The LandRover is, perhaps, not the ideal ambulance since it is cramped in the back where the paramedics have to work on their patients and the suspension is a little hard, so it would be backed up by another, conventional, vehicle.

'The benefit of it is that it allows extremely quick access to patients in difficult areas and gets the blokes there, with the right equipment, without them having to walk miles as they have done in the past,' he said.

Tavistock has also had a new Mercedes ambulance recently and at the end of this month will be getting a brand new state-of-the-art Renault, which has won plaudits for its design.

'Tavistock will then have a mix of vehicles which will give maximum availability of support and cover for the area,' said Mr Barber.