An Evesham paramedic has been celebrated after working to have defibrillators installed in the town.

Kerry Wood was among those acknowledged during the annual Community Heroes Awards organised by Platform Housing Group.

The event was created in 2022 to recognise the work of the association’s customers and residents within their respective communities.

Mrs Wood was announced as the winner of the Going the Extra Mile Award.

The award celebrates someone who goes above and beyond to help others.

In response to the closure of Evesham's community ambulance station in 2021, she led an initiative to install defibrillators throughout the town.

She said: "I installed Evesham’s first defibrillator outside my home and since then it has snowballed."

As a result of her efforts, the town now boasts 24 defibrillators, thanks to a team she coordinated known as Evesham Defibrillators, which is made up of Sue Dyke, Kerry Yeates, Karen Stephens and Donna Atkin, as well as Mrs Wood.

She added: "I really don’t want to take all the credit for this; I have an army behind me.

"I was not expecting to win this award and I feel truly humbled."

Marion Duffy, chief operations officer at Platform Housing Group, added: "Kerry is an absolute inspiration; defibrillators save lives and what Kerry has done by organising teams of people to continue such valuable work means that people’s lives are continuing to be saved.

"She should be very proud of her army and very proud of herself as its leader.

"What she has done for her local community deserves to be rewarded."

The Going the Extra Mile Award was sponsored by AMP EV, an independent company that installs and services electric vehicle charging points.

AMP EV's managing director, Alasdar Croft, said: "We are so proud to be sponsoring the Going the Extra Mile award for the first time.

"Our company values align with this award as we believe that it is important to go above and beyond in everything we do.

"We give our heartfelt thanks to Kerry and congratulate her for this recognition."