ONE of the country's longest serving ambulance men has retired after 45 years of life-saving.

Roger Stevens spent 15 years in the Royal Air Force's fire and crash rescue service before joining the ambulance service for more than 30 years.

When he left the RAF he worked for Cornwall Ambulance Service for five years before moving to County Dur-ham where he was stationed at Fishburn and then Bishop Auckland.

Unlike many of his colleagues, as he approached retirement Mr Stevens, 65, took on more demanding roles towards the end of his career and spent his final year with the North-East Ambulance Service (NEAS) as a rapid response driver.

The father-of-four, from Deerness Road, Bishop Auckland, said: "A lot of people try to wind down as they get older, but I wanted to progress my career.

"I was in the job to help people and save lives, so being a paramedic and then a rapid response driver meant I could do more of that.

"Being on the front-line is demanding. On average, you attend 100 emergency calls a week and never know what situation you are going to face.

"But as a professional, training and experience kicks in and you do your best. I intend to keep using my knowledge and experience to give first aid training."

Paul Liversidge, director of accident and emergency with NEAS, said: "Roger has been an incredible professional.

"Because the service is so mentally and physically demanding, few people go to 65 before they retire. I cannot think of anyone else to work in rapid response vehicles at that stage in their career."