Two men from Gwynedd have been recognised for their work as First Responders for the Welsh Ambulance Service.

Sion Marini, from Criccieth and Wyn Smith, from Beddgelert have received awards recognising their contributions as volunteers at the Welsh Ambulance Service Volunteers conference, held at Swansea University.

Sion, who has been a Community First Responder for three years, received his award for resilience in volunteering. Meanwhile, Wyn, who has been a volunteer for nine years, was recognised for outstanding patient care.

Wyn said: “While we are both delighted to be recognised, it was not the reason either of us volunteered.

“We both feel privileged to be able to respond, and grateful to the Welsh Ambulance Service for the continued training, increasing scope of practice and support provided to all volunteers.

“We both feel honoured to be able to support people in our community when they may not be having the best of days.” Martin Spencer is the Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust’s North region Operations Assistant. He said: “It is always a great pleasure to award our volunteers for their amazing contribution in providing a local community-based response, for our service.

“Wyn and Sion are fantastic volunteers and are fully committed to helping and supporting those people who need our help, when in crisis.

“Our community-based volunteer responders are trained and supported by the service to provide an essential initial response to emergency calls in the community.

“Like all of our volunteer first responders, Wyn and Sion provide initial support before ambulance resources arrive and are also able to assist our remote clinicians manage patients waiting for our help in the community.”

If you are interested in volunteering or would like more information, please visit the Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust website: https://shorturl.at/AEbba