WENSLEYDALE'S first paramedic has retired after he spent 22 years helping the people of North Yorkshire.

Alan Bowe, 60, worked at Bainbridge ambulance station throughout his career.

When he first joined the service, there were no defibrillators and the service launched the Heartbeat Appeal, which raised enough money to buy three.

Soon after receiving the first defibrillators, Mr Bowe helped resuscitate a woman.

He said: "There was no sign of a pulse, no sign of breathing and yet within minutes of defibrillation, she was sitting up asking what happened.

"I think the fact that we all lived so far away from our nearest hospital underlined the importance of this life-saving piece of equipment."

In 1995, he qualified as Bainbridge's first paramedic, a post he held for six years before he resumed work as an ambulance technician.

He said: "It was such hard work, but well worth it in the end. I felt it was my duty to have a crack at it, largely because I am local, and know, or even grew up with, many of our patients.

"There was a lot of job satisfaction as a paramedic, but there was also a lot more pressure."

Mr Bowe and his wife, Shirley, live in Bainbridge and have four children.