Royal wedding parties could be scuppered by lack of first aiders

Street parties to celebrate next year's royal wedding could be scuppered in one Shropshire town because of a lack of qualified first aiders in the area, it has been claimed.

Fay Lund, a support member of St John Ambulance in Ludlow, said it had just one qualified first aider.

She said events to celebrate the royal wedding would need public liability insurance - including first aid cover which she claims will not be there.

She said the charity regularly appealed for volunteers in the area in recent years without any success.

Shropshire Council bosses have insisted they are trying to make it easier for people to hold street parties by reducing red tape and paperwork involved.

The wedding is due to take place on April 29 at Westminster Abbey and, in an echo of the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana in 1981, street parties are expected to be held in communities across the country.

Mrs Lund said: "St John Ambulance is almost defunct in Ludlow - we have hardly any first aiders to provide cover.

"With the royal wedding coming up people will be wanting to have street parties - but to do so they will need public liability insurance and that includes having a first aider on call.

"I don't know what people are going to do in the Ludlow area.

"We either need a lot more volunteers to carry out training or people will have to think very seriously about how they are going to celebrate the wedding.

"This situation of a lack of first aiders has been a problem for some time. We have held a number of publicity and recruitment events to get people in but the people of Ludlow don't seem to be interested."

Ron Buzzacott, Shropshire Council's traffic manager, said: "We understand that street parties and fetes are a traditional part of community life - they are a simple way for us to get to know our neighbours and meet members of our community.

"Therefore, we are currently working closely with Telford and Wrekin Council and West Mercia Police to make it easier for people to hold these sorts of local events, without having to plough through mountains of forms and red tape.

"This will be in place at the start of next year - in plenty of time for the royal wedding celebrations in April.

"If the street party is a non-profit making event we will not charge for the road closure."

Anyone interested in volunteering for St John Ambulance can call (01584) 872992.