A St John ambulance left Oxfordshire at the weekend to travel 6,000 miles to help some of the poorest people in South Africa.

The Volkswagen van has been donated by the Oxfordshire branch after members were approached by Lions Inter- national.

It will be used by the False Bay Volunteer Emergency Medical Service, in Fish Hoek Valley, near Cape Town, and is expected to help save 300 lives every year.

St John Ambulance uses its fleet of ambulances during the day to help NHS paramedics, as well as for transporting non-emergency patients to hospital.

At weekends, vehicles are manned by volunteers who help with the 999 service or use their medical skills at public events.

Because the ambulances are involved in commercial work, they must abide by strict UK standards. As they age, many cannot be used here, but are perfectly adequate for use in other countries.

Natalie Robb, a St John Ambulance Oxfordshire volunteer, said: "The VW ambulance belonged to our Banbury branch, but it was no longer being used.

"I always think this vehicle is a bit like a hippy van with Ambulance' written on the side. But it has blue lights and all the equipment it needs to do the job.

"It had reached the end of its life for what we could use it for, but we knew someone else could benefit from it."

False Bay Volunteer Emergency Medical Service was set up because the nearest professional paramedic service is 25 miles away and can sometimes take six hours to arrive.

The old ambulance from Oxfordshire will be used by some of the service's 40 unpaid workers, who cover an area of 250sq km populated by 75,000 residents.

Although many people in the area are wealthy, it is also home to some of the most deprived in South Africa, and the False Bay volunteers respond to anyone who needs their help.

A lot of their work is done in the squatter settlements that Government ambulances will not visit.

Rick Clutton, of Lions International, said: "This ambulance will replace one we donated about 20 years ago, which saves about 300 lives a year but has now had its day.

"This new one will mean the world to them.

"It's absolutely magic that it's come at just the right time."

The ambulance will not be driven to South Africa, but will be transported by air.