THE St John Ambulance Division of Teddington, Hampton and Parkfields celebrated its first anniversary recently.

The division reopened its doors last year after the previous division closed down. Now under new leadership, members say it is bigger and better than ever before.

The division has 20 cadets and 18 adult members all learning new skills to help the community at local events.

Within the last year, seven adult members have been trained to use an automated external defibrillator to use in heart-stop situations; two members have been trained to drive an ambulance;five people have started a course to become officers and Iain MacGreggor, who started running the division, has been promoted to Divisional Officer.

The division has a high profile in the community. More than 150 casualties have been treated over the past year and members have attended many local public events.

They were in Teddington in November for Remembrance Day, and, more recently, outside Tesco taking part in the Tesco Challenge, where £1,884.05 was raised over two days. This money will go towards new first aid equipment for the division.

Mr MacGreggor says of the last year, "It has been fantastic. We have increased our numbers dramatically, especially among adults. We are getting more adults trained in a wide variety of new skills."

In the coming year he wants to recruit more cadets and to continue to train people in new skills, so that in time, the division will be able to purchase and crew a new ambulance To this end there are several fundraising activities coming up.

A house-to-house is planned for June , and in July the charity celebrates its National Flag Day.

There are quizzes, fairs, discos and free first aid sessions planned for the public to come along to Mr MacGreggor says, "Keep your eyes peeled for our future events and if you see us out and about then don’t be shy - come and have a chat".

For more information about becoming a member, please telephone 8943 4828 or 07932 049390.