A FIRST aid volunteer has told how a ‘bundle of rags’ on a Portland roadside turned out to be a boy in urgent need of assistance.

Lindsey Jones, who has been a St John Ambulance volunteer for 15 years, spotted the teenager on the floor of the darkened Wide Street as her husband drove her home one evening.

She told of the rescue as Portland St John Ambulance appeals for more volunteers to join its ranks.

Mrs Jones said: “I was off-duty, driving by with my husband Michael when I noticed what I thought was a bundle of rags and which turned out to be a boy.

“We did a U-turn and went back and found a 15-year-old boy on the floor.

“He wasn’t unconscious but he was medically unwell, so I called an ambulance.

“I made him comfortable, my husband gave him his jumper and we kept him warm and stayed with him.

“After my husband and I had stopped, an off-duty coastguard came along.

“The coastguard called his colleagues and they got him a blanket.”

She added: “It must’ve been about half an hour before the ambulance crew got there. In the meantime I was talking to the boy and also to ambulance control.

“I called the boy’s parents and they came up and stayed with him until the ambulance arrived.

“He would’ve been lying there a long time if I hadn’t spotted him.

“People were just driving past, my husband said that as he was driving and concentrating on the road he wouldn’t have seen him.”

The drama occurred last month and was the first time Mrs Jones, of Easton, has ever had to deal with such a situation off-duty.

She passed on her best wishes to the teenager and said: “I hope he’s alright, the unfortunate thing is we never get to find out what happens afterwards.”

A South Western Ambulance Service spokesman said: “At 8.48pm the call came in, we were called to Wide Street on Portland where it was reported that a 15-year-old boy had collapsed.

“He was taken to Dorset County Hospital, arriving at 9.48pm.”

Donate time

donate time PORTLAND’S St John Ambulance first aid charity is calling for more volunteers to join its island team.

The state-of-the-art new training headquarters in Easton was officially opened in March this year by Princess Anne, following six years of hard work by the charity, volunteers and local fundraisers to replace the old dilapidated building.

All volunteers benefit from training to gain life-saving skills and a free uniform.

Division Superintendent Terry Shakespeare said: “We desperately need more volunteers.

“All ages from five upwards can join and help to make a difference between a life saved and a life lost.”

Call Terry on 01305 820888 to find out more.