Lewes Bonfire first aid

Over 140 dedicated St John Ambulance volunteers were out in force on bonfire night to attend to the medical needs of revellers at the annual Lewes Bonfire celebrations.

The team, made up of around 100 first aiders and a number of doctors, nurses and paramedics who all gave up their own bonfire nights for free, treated 120 casualties at the event which has taken place annually for over 150 years.

The first aid charity also supplied a fleet of 12 ambulances and crews for the evening and set up their own advanced treatment centre to accommodate casualties in need of intensive care. A total of 10 people were transported to hospital. The majority of injuries were caused by trips and falls and some through excess alcohol and some people were also treated for eye injuries and minor burns.

St John Ambulance volunteer Anna Heaton who headed up the team at the event said: ‘Traditionally Lewes Bonfire is a really busy event for us and it was great that so many volunteers kindly gave up their time to come along and help to keep everyone safe so they could enjoy the celebrations.

'We put a lot of work into planning this event, taking into account the difficulties presented by so many people being so widely spread throughout the town. We work closely with the bonfire societies as well as the council, the police and the ambulance service to ensure that the people of Lewes have a safe and enjoyable time, but also to ensure that should people be hurt, a trained professional is quickly on hand to help. ’