THE launch of a civilian, volunteer, ambulance service in Wensleydale this week was an admission by professional ambulance chiefs that they cannot meet targets for covering remote rural areas like the Yorkshire Dales.

The Yorlife community response scheme will recruit civilians to drive marked and medically-equipped vehicles to respond to emergencies and stabilise patients until the real ambulance service personnel can get to the scene.

There is, of course, nothing new about civilians providing emergency help. The nation's lifeboats have been manned by them for centuries.

But the initiative is yet another acknowledgement by the public services that providing a uniform level of service across county's like North Yorkshire is impossible with current levels of funding. DIY ambulance services takes the Dales self-help ethic to a higher level.

The practical, can-do, attitude of folk who live in the more isolated parts of the region will mean there will be no shortage of volunteers. The success or otherwise of the scheme will hinge on the quality of training - in 999 driving and first aid.

First aid is relatively straightforward, the driving training perhaps less so. Union concern at letting civilians with just a three weeks' emergency driving training loose in powerful 4x4 vehicles is perhaps well-founded. It will be imperative that the ambulance service selects the right people