A request for a donation from Silsden Responders, a team of volunteers on standby to give CPR (rescue breaths) before paramedics arrive, ignited a debate at the town council.

Silsden Responders had written to the council clerk requesting money to buy items they need, such as high-visibility jackets and name tags.

The jackets were priced at £74.95. Councillor Phillip Edwards said: “That is a ridiculous price, I think they should shop around a bit.”

Cllr Tim Maddocks also said he had a “moral dilemma” about donating to the responders.

He said: “It is suggesting that the emergency services cannot do their job as well as they should be able to, if they have to have unpaid volunteers on standby to get to the situation faster than they can.

“I agree that saving somebody’s life is priceless but what will be next, I will be ringing the police and they will be sending someone else, a volunteer, to see me?

“We are already paying for a body to do this work, it is another example of the Government palming its service off on to someone else.”

Lesley Corcoran, Silsden town clerk, responded: “Will it help your moral dilemma to think of this as an extra service that you are paying for?”

Cllr Maddocks replied: “But I could be paying for private health service. But I agree it is very difficult to say no to them.”

Cllr Liz Trainor, pictured, said she thought the council should support the responders. She said: “They have to be there if somebody collapses in Silsden and they are unpaid volunteers doing this. It is hard enough to get volunteers for anything, so I think we should support them.

“If they are there even seconds before the ambulance service then they could be saving somebody’s life, which is priceless.”

The council finally agreed to donate £600 to Silsden Responders.