VOLUNTEERS from the St John Ambulance have helped respond to emergency call-outs in the snow in the two counties.

St John Ambulance was called to assist West Midlands Ambulance Service throughout Tuesday during snowfall and freezing temperatures across the West Midlands and Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

Specialist 4x4 ambulances were requested to help reach patients in areas were normal road ambulances would find it difficult to reach.

Volunteers were called upon throughout the day and into the night to assist, with St John Ambulance volunteers crewing a total of 12 vehicles throughout Tuesday providing invaluable support to the communities of the region.

In total yesterday, 24 volunteers were deployed with more on standby.

More volunteers have made themselves available throughout today as the bad weather continues.

Ambulance crews have dealt with a variety of calls, assisting the ambulance service with urgent patient transfers and emergency calls throughout the region, some calls have been related to the weather, others have been related to medical conditions, often made worse by the cold temperatures.

Support to the ambulance service will continue whilst bad weather is expected throughout the evening and throughout the coming days.

Driving conditions have been challenging in many parts of our region and this is where the St John 4x4 ambulances can assist greatly.

St John Amulance is also providing additional support to local heath trusts and hospitals for dealing with transfers and transporting patients home.

Paul Bytheway, Commissioner Operations St John Ambulance West Midlands, said: “Bad weather is often a challenging time for ambulance services as roads can be become difficult and emergency calls can increase.

"This is where the invaluable support of our volunteers and the use of our 4x4 ambulances can really make a difference in supporting our local communities and providing assistance to those who need it.

"Our volunteers have again shown that they are able to respond quickly and professionally.”

• Keep up to date with the latest weather forecast for Worcestershire here.
• If you have to drive, check the latest travel news here.
• Check out our gallery of snow pictures here.