A NORTH Wales community first responder has received a prestigious award following her dedication and service to the community for the past five years.

Effie Cadwallader, who regularly deals with life-threatening medical emergencies in the south Wrexham area, has been honoured with the highest award to an individual volunteer by the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust.

Effie, a member of the Wrexham Rural group, has attended more than a thousand 999 incidents since she began volunteering with the service five years ago.

Now she has been named ‘Community First Responder of the Year’ from a shortlist drawn up by the Welsh service’s awards committee, which considered hundreds of nominations put forward by the public on behalf of many of the 460 CFRs across Wales.

At an awards ceremony in South Wales, Dr Brendan Lloyd, WAST’s executive medical director, commended Effie for her “excellence in the pre-hospital field where she has demonstrated an outstanding commitment and contribution to her locality”.

Effie was unable to attend the ceremony and received the news of the prestigious accolade while celebrating a ’big birthday’ on holiday abroad with her family.

She said: “Hearing about the award on my birthday was such a lovely surprise. It really was the icing on the cake to complete a wonderful day with my family.

“Joining WAST has been a truly wonderful experience.

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“The care and encouragement given to the volunteers across Wales is second to none, and the warmth and friendship of every member of the service from the top down is very much appreciated by the volunteers.

"It’s a great honour to be recognised for the work I’ve done in Wales, and I want to thank all my colleagues for the exceptional support they’ve given me.”

Effie covers a wide area around Chirk, stretching from Tregeiriog, Glyn Ceiriog and Llangollen in the west, north as far as Penycae, Marchwiel and Overton, and east to Hanmer and Bronington.