UK's oldest first responder still saving lives at 88 - and says she'll never walk away

We all know how hard our emergency services work. And at 88, when most of us are long past retirement, Carol Moss is still working as a dedicated volunteer Community First Responder, saving lives in her local patch.

She has been volunteering with the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) for nearly 24 years, and has been nominated for a Pride of Britain Award for her inspirational work with the community.

Carol’s five-mile patch covers the village of East Bergholt in Suffolk, which means many of her patients are local.

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“What happens is somebody rings 999 and they activate whoever’s available and on duty,” she explains. “We go in ahead of the ambulance and do what we can.”

Carol travels by car and carries a defibrillator whenever she’s on the rota as a first responder. When she arrives at the patient’s side, she checks their oxygen levels, temperature, blood pressure and respiratory rate, and performs first aid and CPR if necessary.

“We aim to arrive within eight minutes of a call, because if you don’t get a defib on someone who needs it within eight minutes, that’s it,” she says.

“You know pretty quickly whether somebody’s in trouble.”

Carol started volunteering with EEAST after the death of her husband Michael, with whom she shared a daughter, a son and three grandchildren. She had retired from her career as a maths and science supply teacher when she was “talked into” becoming a first responder.

“It gives you a purpose in life,” she says of her work.

“Once you've lost your husband, it's difficult to just live for yourself alone. You've got family and grandchildren and you help them, but it's nice to have something at home.

“Once you're in it, you can't quite walk away! I love helping people and it's a controlled way of doing that.”

Since she first started working with EEAST, Carol has answered more than 1,000 emergency calls and supported countless people during some of the most critical moments of their lives.

Carol gives hundreds of hours of her time, unpaid, to help her community. In 2025 so far, she has averaged over 260 volunteer hours each month, and stays ‘on-call’ most days to respond to medical emergencies.

Lots of cases stay with her long after she’s packed away her equipment, but the most memorable ones are of the people whose lives she has saved.

And she says her patients often seek her out to thank her after their recovery.

“They come back to you, and it's quite nice that patients recognise you and come and thank you for looking after them,” she adds. “It’s lovely.”

Lorna Hayes, EEAST's Head of Community Response, says: "Carol is an inspiration to us all. Her unwavering commitment, compassion and resilience has saved lives and brought comfort to countless families. She is a shining example of what it means to serve your community."

The Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards with P&O Cruises honour the nation's unsung heroes, with the star-studded celebration screened every year on ITV.

The deadline for public nominations is midnight on Sunday, so if you know someone who deserves a Pride of Britain Award, now is the time to tell us about them.

Nominate now at prideofbritain.com