A CREWE father-of-two has been able to hit the road to provide vital emergency aid with the help of Crewe Town Council.

Darren Hall, 32, has been a life-saver on many occasions over the past year in his role as a Community First Responder, arriving swiftly on the scene of an emergency in Crewe and the surrounding areas.

His ex-fleet car donated by Cheshire Police is now branded up and insured by the town council, which has also forked out for his uniform.

He said: "It's a voluntary role so it's great to get this backing. Insuring the car would have set me back quite a bit, but now it's covered and I feel proud to play a role in helping to save local lives."

Darren is often first on the scene of an emergency armed with defibrillators, oxygen and observation equipment. In response to the pandemic, his uniform includes full PPE.

He studied engineering at Cheshire College, South & West and took first aid as an extra curriculum subject at 16.

A former special police constable, he says he became a First Responder (CFR) to give something back to the community.

He added: "I loved working as a 'special' but fitting the shifts in alongside a young family was hard. But I still wanted to give back and my first aid training was a great reason to become a responder in my hometown. It's rewarding to know my actions increase the patient's chances of survival."

When he's not on duty Darren works as a Business Analayst at Assurant in Crewe.

Crewe Mayor Cllr Benn Minshall said: "We were pleased to support Darren especially at a time when our emergency services are stretched more than ever.

"It takes a special kind of person to take over in an emergency. When we heard of his work, we had no hesitation in getting behind Crewe's first CFR."