St John Ambulance volunteers across the county are being drafted in to respond to 999 calls to save time in life-and-death situations.

Members of the charity are joining Oxfordshire Ambulance Trust's 15-month-old community responders scheme, where off-duty paramedics, control staff and technicians are dispatched to emergencies near their homes. They often arrive quicker than an ambulance crew -- a time difference which can save lives.

The scheme has proved so successful that the trust is expanding it to include St John Ambulance volunteers, who will get special training.

After initial tuition with the charity, they will attend the ambulance trust training school at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford to learn about oxygen therapy and how to use a defibrillator to restart the heart after a cardiac arrest.

The first volunteer will start work in Wantage in a pilot scheme next month but managers hope to recruit volunteers across the county.

Dick Tracey, the ambulance service's assistant divisional manager, said: "The community responders scheme has already had notable successes. Many have saved lives as a direct result.

"Although we're expanding the scheme with St John Ambulance, it is important to note that on all occasions an ambulance will be dispatched first.

"This is not a substitute, but a complementary scheme. It's about saving lives.

"Research shows that for every minute without treatment, the chances of a successful resuscitation for a cardiac patient reduces by 10 per cent. So if a volunteer gets to a patient one minute before an ambulance, that could increase their survival chances by 10 per cent."

St John Ambulance assistant county commissioner Elizabeth Stewart said: "We thought it would be a good way to help our colleagues. We will give our time free."

The charity is planning a £5,000 fundraising campaign to buy equipment for its community responders.