Community Responders turn out on behalf of the ambulance service to emergency situations, such as people suffering heart attacks or chest pain, in and around the area in which they live or work.

They undergo full training in basic life support and the use of oxygen and a defibrillator so they can give vital first aid until the ambulance arrives.

Andrew Barlow, the ambulance service’s responder manager in Norfolk, said sudden cardiac arrest claims around 150,000 lives each year in the UK, with survival rates only about five per cent outside of a hospital setting.

“If a person’s heart has stopped due to an accident or heart attack and is in a rhythm called ventricular fibrillation, the only way to get the heart into a more regular sustaining beat is to pass an electrical charge through the heart muscle,” he said.

“The first eight minutes are the most vital for the collapsed person and if first aid and a defibrillator are on hand the chance of survival will increase considerably.”

In an emergency, responders are contacted, via a mobile phone text message, to attend the incident and automatically get back-up from the nearest ambulance available.

The ambulance service’s target to reach the Terringtons, Walpoles, Tilney All Saints and Tilney St Lawrence from Lynn is just SEVEN minutes, but it is not always possible with current traffic levels – and that is why more responders are urgently needed.

Mr Barlow said: “Responders treat and stabilise the patient as well as giving support to the family until the arrival of the ambulance. They are then free to go back to what they were doing before.

“We already have five members trained up, but we are now looking to recruit more people so that we can offer a 24/7 service – and more daytime cover would be a real help.

“This is not a cost-cutting exercise and is not intended to improve our response times – all it does is give the patient a better chance of survival.”

Anyone interested in becoming a responder and who is reasonably fit, a car owner or has access to a car is asked to contact the Community Responder Team on 01284 731802 between 9am and 5pm, or 01603 481220 out of hours.