THE ambulance service which serves North and East Yorkshire is looking to recruit a first aid army. Volunteers from rural areas are being sought to learn how to use life-saving defibrillators.

This is the latest scheme to try to ensure country residents receive similar levels of emergency cover as their urban counterparts.

The very name of the Tees, East and North Yorkshire Ambulance Service indicates the size of the task that it faces. Much of this huge area is rural, with pockets of the population living miles from anywhere.

This has been the main factor in the ambulance service's failure to meet response time targets. A report earlier this month suggested that ambulances responded to 55.5 per cent of emergency calls within eight minutes, compared to a Government target of 75 per cent.

Minutes matter in emergency situations. Lives can be lost if ambulances take too long to arrive.

As it is impractical to have an ambulance stationed in every village, the service is turning to the public for help.

There is a long tradition of voluntary health care in Britain, the St John Ambulance being a shining example. The more people who learn first aid the better.

But it is vital that volunteer defibrillator operators are recruited in addition to a well-equipped and properly-staffed core service. However well-meaning, a neighbour with limited medical training is no match for a fully-qualified paramedic in an emergency.

To that end, the ambulance service is recruiting 50 front-line staff and buying seven fast-response vehicles. That is the most reassuring news for rural residents.