A COUPLE of Pendle-based ambulance workers have been commended for giving up their own time to promote safety.

Husband-and-wife team Jane and Paul Atkinson were presented with the Lancashire Ambulance Service Community Services Award for their efforts to educate people about their work.

The couple have spent seven years arranging more than 30 events in schools, youth clubs, pensioners' groups and other organisations, ever since Jane was asked to take an ambulance into her son's nursery.

Jane, an ambulance technician based at Barnoldswick, organises many of the visits to local groups and is accompanied by Paul, a paramedic based at Nelson.

The couple, who live in Burnley and have a seven-year-old son, use props such as a big teddy bear to demonstrate how the ambulance service works and also warn about the dangers of health hazards such as drug abuse.

Jane said: "It all started when I was asked to go into my son's nursery with an ambulance and it's just grown from there.

"I love doing it and the children always enjoy it. I have had mini-paramedics suits made and we do bandaging and I put a big teddy on the stretcher.

"I hope that it helps people to understand what to do in an emergency and stops them being frightened if they ever have to go in an ambulance or come into contact with the service.

"I started the talks and I do a lot of them on my own but it's good when Peter and I also do them together. It's amazing the response we get."

LAS chief executive David Hill said: "Not all commendable behaviour occurs in trauma situations.

"Jane and Paul voluntarily go out into the community in their own time to deliver interesting and informative programmes to educate children of all ages on the role of the ambulance service as well as many other healthcare issues."