Dedicated workers from North West Ambulance Service have been honoured at a ceremony in Chester.

A range of ambulance staff from frontline and support services, including volunteers who work in around Cheshire and Merseyside were invited to celebrate their achievements and special milestones at the trust’s long service celebrations held at Chester Racecourse.

The ceremony was hosted by the area’s head of service Dave Kitchin, who was joined by chief executive Bob Williams and the trust’s chairman Wyn Dignan. They presented accolades to staff reaching milestones of 20, 25, 30, and 35 years service and between them they have committed almost 1,500 years to the service.

Lord-Lieutenant of Cheshire David Briggs MBE attended the ceremony to award The Queen’s Long Service and Good Conduct medal to those who had fulfilled 20 years exemplary frontline duties.

Ambulance staff from Cheshire who were recognised made up over 500 years in the service.

Speaking about the event Bob Williams said: “It has been an honour to commend all the years of devoted service from our fantastic staff working behind the scenes in our control centres and support services to those patient facing roles such as our paramedics, emergency medical technicians, patient transport service and voluntary car drivers.

“Our staff are the heart of our organisation and they work tirelessly to ensure the public receive the highest quality of care, often in challenging situations. I’d like to congratulate them all on their outstanding achievement and thank them for all their years of dedication to the Service and ultimately to the public we serve.”