The hard work and dedication of a group of lifesavers will be honoured permanently.

Thorncombe Parish Council has provided a plaque to honour 20 years of 24-hour continuous emergency cover for the parish by its pioneering first responders team; the first of its kind in the country.

Thorncombe First Responders became the first rural Community First Responder (CFR) group in the UK when they launched in April 1998.

During the past two decades the group has provided round-the-clock emergency care for those in need, attending thousands of incidents and saving many lives.

The 20-year anniversary was marked in April and honoured by the donation of a static defibrillator by South Western Ambulance Service (SWASFT).

The defibrillator and plaque will be unveiled at Thorncombe Community Shop - which is also celebrating a milestone anniversary, having reached its 10th year - next month.

CFRs are vital volunteers who are trained by SWASFT to attend certain types of emergency calls within the area they live 24 hours-a-day, seven days a week.

Last year, the team received additional training to enable members to provide an enhanced response when people have falls. Utilising the expertise of clinicians in the 999 control hub, the team is able to safely mobilise a patient and allow them to remain at home, helping to reduce the pressure on both SWASFT and the NHS as a whole.

In 2003, the Thorncombe group was given a Queen’s Golden Jubilee Award for voluntary services to the community. Former village postmaster Rosemary Walley, who set up the group, was awarded an MBE.

In 2016 they won the SWASFT CFR Dorset Group Award for showing outstanding commitment to their community.

A statement from Richard Arnold, chairman of Thorncombe Parish Council, states: “The parish council is pleased to be able to provide a permanent recognition of the fact that this life-saving service had its origin in Thorncombe”.

Members of the responders group and shop management committee, its staff and volunteers, together with parish council representatives, will attend the ceremony at 11am on Saturday, October 6, at the shop, during which which Ms Walley will unveil the plaque.