Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson was one of five members of the North West Ambulance Service’s Pendle Community First Responder Team to have been presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal in recognition of his service as an NHS volunteer.

The special commemorative medal has been given to serving frontline members of the police, fire, emergency services, prison services and the Armed Forces across the UK.

Acting as a token of the nation’s thanks, the Platinum Jubilee Medal follows a long history of awarding medals to mark Royal Jubilees, with the first one awarded to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria’s reign in 1887.

Andrew Stephenson, who has been a North West Ambulance Service Community First Responder since 2014, was presented with him medal by local Team Leader David Brown.

Community First Responders are volunteers who have been trained in the skills required to attend 999 calls received by the North West Ambulance Service, and to provide basic life-saving skills until the ambulance arrives.

They volunteer within the local community where they live and work.

Andrew Stephenson MP, who also helped as a volunteer Covid-19 vaccinator and has served as MP for Pendle since 2010, said: “I was humbled to be one of the many recognised with this medal, but it is recognition for all the NHS volunteers.

"We have an amazing team of Community First Responders in Pendle and it has been a privilege to be part of the team for the past eight years."