A FIRST AID squad in Silsden have won a top award from the Yorkshire Ambulance Service.

Silsden’s Community First Responders were this month voted Scheme of the Year for the Airedale, Bradford and Leeds area.

Paul Stevens, the service’s Community Resilience locality manager, described the team’s commitment to their role over the past five years as “outstanding”.

He said: “Last year alone they covered 3,032 hours and attended over 120 calls.

“They have gradually increased in numbers through promotion of the scheme in their local area.”

Community Responders are volunteers trained to provide life-saving treatment to local residents in the vital first minutes of an emergency before paramedics arrive.

Lawrence Walton, one of the Silsden responders, said team members carried specialist kits containing equipment such as a defibrillator and oxygen.

He said: “We are asked to attend immediate life threatening call such as chest pains, difficulty breathing and suspected strokes.

Mr Walton’s fellow team members are Ray Bolton, the scheme’s coordinator and longest-serving member, and Sara Smith.

Anyone wishing to join the Responders should contact Emma Scott on 07970 728136.