Elizabeth Fish

Volunteer health charity LIVES will celebrate 45 years helping Lincolnshire residents in 2015, so will host a series of fundraising and awareness campaigns.

The charity was founded in 1970 by Dr Michael Cooper and Dr Richard Harper-Smith. Cooper was from Nettleham, just north of Lincoln.

Since, LIVES is an important part of Lincolnshire’s emergency care, providing assistance in emergencies to ambulances by being first on the scene.

It relies on volunteers becoming responders and medics in order to be “on call” throughout the day.

To celebrate, a number of events will be held across the year in Lincolnshire, such as a LIVES anniversary ball in September, where Lincolnshire people can support the work of medics and first responders.

Stephen Hyde, fundraising manager at LIVES, said: “We are so excited to be celebrating our 45th anniversary and all we have achieved in those 45 years.

“During the year we will be trying to raise the awareness of LIVES and the important work we do – the charity is a result of 45 years of hard work and brings communities in Lincolnshire together to make a difference.

“Dr Michael Cooper and Dr Richard Harper-Smith were both amazing men, who worked tirelessly to start LIVES and provide Lincolnshire with an invaluable medical service. Today, LIVES is still based on the same hard-working principles – our medics and first responders are at the heart of what we do.”

In 2014, first responders used lifesaving defibrillators 191 times – with a return of the patient’s circulation on 90 occasions, a return rate of 48%.

Hyde added: “Over the course of our 45th anniversary we will be working to encourage communities to invest in their own defibrillators we are hoping to encourage at least 45 schools, 45 businesses and 45 rural villages to purchase defibrillators.”

To find out more about the planned events, visit the LIVES website.

A social media campaign by East Coast Trains asking passengers to name their favourite days out has seen Lincoln feature in the list.

According to the train operator’s Twitter hashtag, #mapmycity, Lincoln Cathedral featured as a top destination for a family day out.

Passengers have told East Coast Trains which is their preferred attraction on the operator’s rail routes in order to win First Class travel.

Also on the list is York’s National Railway Museum, Beamish Museum in Durham, Loch Ness in Inverness, Edinburgh Castle and London’s Natural History Museum, among others.

Photo: East Coast

As well as Lincoln Cathedral, passengers also recommended the Moonraker boat on Lincoln’s Waterside and Lincoln Castle.

East Coast Trains currently provides a direct morning and evening service between Lincoln and London along the East Coast Main Line.

The line connects London to cities such as Leeds, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.