YOUNG people who are thinking about a career in the emergency services or nursing could get valuable experience from joining the St John Ambulance, according to Okehampton divisional officer Paul Yelland.

Okehampton is making an appeal for new St John volunteers and is particularly keen to attract the younger element.

'The role of the St John is changing fast and resources are now becoming stretched, he said.

'As well as providing first aid cover at local events, St John now acts as a reserve ambulance service and is supporting the statutory ambulance service in the event of major incidents and large scale events like the eclipse and the Millennium.'

Paul is 22 and joined the crew six years ago because he was considering a career in the police force and thought the experience would help him.

'Most emergency services ask for experience of life and dealing with people ,' he said. 'St John takes people at 16 so it is an ideal way of getting that experience,'

'You see a lot of things you would not otherwise — the service makes you grow up and become more confident. It certainly helps develop your communication skills.'

Paul got so into the work of St John that he gave up the idea of the police force and became a care assistant for the Westcountry Ambulance Service instead.

'I find the work really interesting and I am sure there are many people out there who would get just as much out of it as I do,' he said.

'What people tend to forget is they get full training and will gain the confidence and ability to deal with any situation.'

The divisional officer said if it were not for St John many events would not happen because there had to be an ambulance on site for insurance purposes.

The Okehampton crew attend local events like horse shows, rugby matches and agricultural shows but are called up for a whole range of other things. Last year, for example, they were on standby to help during a flooding incident at Bude and assisted in the evacuation of villagers from Instow when an unexploded bomb was found on the beach.

'You have to be ready for anything,' said Paul. 'You may go to a major horse show one day and have nothing and then go to a village fete and have to deal with a cardiac arrest.'

Volunteers are asked to put in a minimum of 30 hours on public duty each year and attend 15 training sessions.

Paul said he put in 300 hours in 1999 but that was because he really enjoyed it.

The aim is to boost the volunteers from eight to 15 at Okehampton so the workload can be shared.

'Most of the crew have families and if we can boost the numbers we can space out the work they do,' added Paul.

He said the St John Ambulance in the 21st Century was a world away from the image of people in black and white uniforms sticking on plasters.

'The equipment in the St John ambulance is basically the same as a front line ambulance and the skills are a lot more advanced than simple first aid,' he said.

Ambulance technicians are qualified to use stretchers and splints and administer pain relief. They can drive an ambulance and have advanced first aid skills.

Anyone from the age of 16 to 65 can join the St John Ambulance. Training sessions are held on Wednesday evenings at the St John Ambulance Station in Mill Road, Okehampton from 7.30pm to 9pm and people are welcome to go along if they are interested in becoming a volunteer. Alternatively, they can call Paul Yelland on 01837 52652.