A LONG-serving Worcestershire St John Ambulance volunteer is to be invested as a member of the Order of St John.

The special ceremony is due to take place tomorrow in the Grand Priory Church, Clerkenwell, London.

In recognition of her 24 years of service, Angela Tidmarsh, of Pershore, will be admitted as a Serving Sister and presented with the insignia by the Prior of the Order of St John, Lord Slynn, of Hadley.

She is now the secretary of the Pershore Division, having joined St John after attending a first-aid course with a work colleague.

Since then, she has driven the St John ambulance to concerts, carnivals, gymkhanas, motorcycle scrambles and sports matches.

As tourism officer for Wychavon District Council, she also organises the annual Blossom Trail Cycle Ride, which is a major fund-raising event for St John Ambulance.

Confidence

"I'm also a first-aider at work and it has come in useful in my personal life," she said.

"I was in a pub once when someone had a suspected heart attack and my training gave me the confidence to give first-aid."

On another occasion she was on stand-by in Evesham on Christmas Eve with other St John Ambulance volunteers during an ambulance strike.

"We had to take a small baby with breathing difficulties from the other side of Evesham to Worcester Royal Infirmary, under police escort.

"I was in the back of the ambulance with the baby and it was the scariest moment, but fortunately everything was fine and the baby recovered," she said.

Ms Tidmarsh, aged 43, will be accompanied by her mother, Mary Collins, when she attends the investiture.