A Shropshire pensioner has been given the thumbs up by residents all to happy to help her get to the scene of the next emergency.

Mary Pullen, 64, is Bishop’s Castle’s emergency paramedic and has to flag down cars and hitchhike to 999 jobs because she does not drive. And residents now know her so well that they always pull up and ferry her to the scene of any accidents and emergencies that occur across the area.

Mrs Pullen has been the Community First Responder for Bishop’s Castle now for five years.

If the telephone goes in the middle of the night, she grabs her emergency kit bag, calls on a neighbour and requests a lift.

If she receives a 999 alert during the day, she dashes out into the street and flags down passing cars.Her emergency kit, which contains life-saving equipment, is always packed so that she can spring into action.

The fact that she does not have her own car and cannot drive has not stopped her providing a life-saving service.

She said: “I think people round here are beginning to know me now, and I am usually wearing my red overalls so people can tell who I am and they stop.

“I also have a very good friend, Sarah Wooff, who will take me out at the drop of a hat any time night or day.

“I have been known to run to the job if it’s nearby and I do have a small trolley I can take with me.”

Mrs Pullen has always worked for the British Red Cross, along with her husband Michael, who passed away three years ago aged 73 after developing a brain tumour.

She added that when Michael was alive he would drive to incidents.

She said: “After his death I wanted to carry on because I enjoy it so much and not being able to drive doesn’t seem to have stopped me. He would be pleased I was carrying on the role.”

Mrs Pullen said the work varied and she could be called out up to six times a week.

By Catherine Roche