A LONG-SERVING Bridport- based paramedic has hung up his first aid kit after retiring from the South West Ambulance Service.

Ian Barter, 55 from Pine View, had worked for the trust since 1985.

He has officially finished after 28 years of service.

Mr Barter was the one of the longest serving paramedics on the team, after joining the service following redundancy from his farming job in March, 1985.

Mr Barter said: “When I first started, the job was quite localised and we would mainly deal with incidents that happened in Bridport and the close surrounding areas, but now, we can be travelling all over the county and sometimes into other counties such as Somerset and Devon.

“Every person we met was different, there are a lot of interesting people out there and it was nice to be involved with people at their best moments in life and when we made their worst moments better.

“You really see the full range of humanity in this job.”

Even though there were the obvious low-points, Mr Barter said the good times far outweighed the bad during his time in the job.

Mr Barter said: “The most enjoyable thing about working for the ambulance was the people I worked with and the people I met through work.

“One of the nicest parts of the job was the few maternity call outs we went out on. We would get there and the ladies would be quite far into labour and we would have to deliver the baby.

“When the baby was delivered and we passed it to the parents, and everything had gone okay it was a really nice feeling to be there at that moment.

“Another highlight for me was having to rescue some people from a beach and I ended up being winched down from the helicopter and dangling down trying to get to them.”

Mr Barter is currently enjoying his retirement, spending time with his also recently retired wife Carol, and is revoking his interests in the countryside that his job restricted him from doing.

Mr Barter added: “I am pleased to be retiring, and so are my family, but I would like to contribute to the service still, but we will have to wait and see.”