Residents of a dales town are to benefit from the lifesaving skills of ten local volunteers.

The First Responder scheme, which is being launched in Middleham tomorrow, has trained ten residents in emergency life-saving techniques.

The volunteers are provided with a defibrillator, oxygen and a first-aid bag to provide vital lifesaving treatment prior to the arrival of an ambulance.

One of the volunteers, Tony Verbeken, proprietor of the Black Swan pub, said: "Through no fault of their own, the ambulance response time could be as much as 45 minutes away from here.

"You increase the chances of a person's survival if somebody gets to them in the first 10 minutes.

"It's a very close community here and everybody helps each other. I run a business here and it seemed logical to give something back."

The scheme is run in partnership with the Tees, East and North Yorkshire Ambulance Service (Tenyas).

The volunteers will be on call between 6pm and 8am on weekdays and 24 hours a day at weekends and bank holidays.

Tenyas also has First Responder schemes in Redmire and Carperby, with six new volunteers about to begin their training.

Pete Shaw, the First Responder scheme leader for Tenyas, said: "The volunteers have been a pleasure to teach and will be a great asset to the dales.

"The commitment from the people of Lower Wensleydale has been fantastic. My hope is that we will eventually get enough volunteers to enable the schemes to operate 24-hours a day."

The other volunteers in Middleham who have completed the four-month First Person On Scene training programme are Christine Holland, the scheme co-ordinator, play school leader Alexandra Adams, nurse Carol West and husband Garry West, who works in the restaurant trade, site supervisor John Jacobs, play school leader Karen Southgate, nurse Elizabeth Tredwell and husband Neil, who works for Barnardo's, and Nicola Topper, who works at racing stables.

The scheme will be officially launched at the Key Centre, Middleham, at 7pm and will be attended by Tenyas Chief Executive Jayne Barnes, Tenyas Chairman Nick Varey, Sue Young, Chairman of Hambleton and Richmondshire Primary Care Trust, and Chris Long, Chief Executive of the PCT.