St John Ambulance workers in Colchester, Essex are aiming to raise £5,000 to buy two fully-equipped bicycles that would allow medics to reach patients more quickly.

Local newspaper the Daily Gazette reports that Bernie Rhodes, 17, and her colleague John Nicholls, 58, conducted research into the proposal and found that the team could save 250 hours of ambulance time within six months if bicycles with sirens and flashing lights were used to reach injured patients on the streets of Colchester.

The pair need to obtain the backing of the East of England Ambulance Service and Essex County Council to put the plans into operation – but are hoping the medically-equipped bikes will be ready for use by September.

Bicycles were first introduced into the St. John Ambulance in 2003 – Chelmsford in Essex is the only town to use them so far, however.

It was Ms Rhodes who thought of using them in Colchester, the centre of which can get busy, with some roads being blocked off by the local market, meaning that vehicles cannot always reach injured patients easily.

‘We often end up leaving the cars and having to walk or run to the scene to help, and that can be a long way. If we had the bikes, we could cut right through the problems and get to people a lot faster,’ said Ms Rhodes.

Ms Rhodes and Mr Nicholls are meeting with East of England Ambulance Service and Essex County Council in the near future to discuss the proposal – and have launched a fund-raising initiative to raise money for the bikes. Donations can be made at www.justgiving.co.uk/bernie rhodes.

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