A COMMUNITY first responder has warned drivers their poor parking could prevent her from saving a life.

Mum-of-three Lauren Webber, a first responder in the Dengie, aired her frustration over drivers who “block the road”, which could stop her reaching patients in time in potentially life-threatening cases.

Mrs Webber, 28, from Southminster said: “I get dispatched to emergency calls where I need to get to a person in a life or death situation in the quickest time possible.

“I live in St Nicholas Road and at the moment I am struggling to respond to calls and get to patients in time due to the amount of people parking and blocking the road.”

When not working as a first responder, Laura cares for her husband full time.

He was diagnosed with a rare auto-immune disease five years ago.

Mrs Webber became a community first responder - her dream career from a young age - after his diagnosis.

She is calling for residents to be more conscious of the needs of paramedics and first responders, asking drivers to make sure they park considerately so the emergency services can get to important calls.

She said: “Most people have driveways, but don’t use them. If I struggle to get through, how is an ambulance or the fire service supposed to?

“These cars are putting people’s lives at risk, so please think before parking your car and leave room for emergency services to pass.”

The East of England Ambulance Service uses first responders to get to incidents in less than four minutes.

They have to attend call-outs from patients under normal road conditions, and do not have sirens which paramedics and other emergency services can use to get to 999 calls quickly.

An ambulance service spokesman said: “Community first responders are volunteers with life-saving skills who attend medical emergencies where they live or work on behalf of the ambulance service. Because they volunteer in their community, they often can reach a patient before the arrival of an ambulance or response car.

“Every second counts when someone is in cardiac arrest. It is not always possible to get an ambulance to a patient in under eight minutes in remote parts of the east of England.”