A mum-of-two who became a community first responder so she is trained to save the life of her own sick daughter is delighted a school has raised enough money for her team to buy more life-saving equipment.

Rhiannon Fraser, who lives in Stevenage, became a first responder in July last year and is trained by the East of England Ambulance Service to respond to incidents such as cardiac arrests, allergic reactions, diabetes emergencies and patients with breathing difficulties and chest pains.

Her three-year-old daughter Miya suffers from reflex anoxic seizures, which means any unexpected stimulus - such as pain, shock or fright - can cause her heart and breathing to stop.

Rhiannon said: “My daughter is actually quite ill and I wanted to be more medically trained. The seizures can happen anytime - it happened on Friday. I used to panic a lot before, but now I know what to do. I’ve performed CPR on her a couple of times.”

Rhiannon explained how there are at least eight community first responders in Stevenage, but only one equipment kit, so only one person can attend a medical emergency at any one time.

Children at Roebuck Primary School and Nursery in Stevenage, where Rhiannon’s five-year-old son Cameron is a pupil, have raised the £2,000 needed to buy a second kit, with fundraising including a sponsored bounce in January, when pupils had to jump as many times as they could on a bouncy castle.

Rhiannon, who intends to train as a paramedic, said: “This second kit is going to make a massive difference. Within the next week, we should have it and I can’t wait.

“Being a first responder is such a good thing to do and can save so many lives. We are based at home and get calls to people within five minutes of our house. The idea is for us to start treatment straightaway because the ambulance could be anywhere and could take longer to arrive.”

Roebuck school governor Zeta Jackson said: “We were over the moon as a school to hand over a cheque for £1,800 and were amazed when a parent gave us the additional £200 to meet the target.

“This means the kit can be purchased immediately and another volunteer can be out on the road giving support to our community.

“The children had fun and we raised funds for a much-needed service.”

For more about becoming a community first responder, visit www.eastamb.nhs.uk