Fair first aid: 130 years of caring for revellers

St John Ambulance has this year marked 130 years of providing first aid to visitors at Hull Fair.

Today, the charity's volunteers provide medical care for anything from minor injuries to more serious incidents such as cardiac arrests.

They even provide medical care for residents who live near to the event.

Colin Hackett, who is the event lead for the organisation, said compared to 1896 when teams first started attending the Walton Street fair, 2026 was "a lot more applying plasters than it is amputation."

Hackett said that health and safety measures over the years have ensured that rides are now safer, "reducing the number of injuries and incidents."

In 2019 a woman called for the Airmaxx 360 ride to be scrapped after she suffered a broken jaw and facial injuries when she fell from the ride.

Jacky Bowes, who leads the local branch, said volunteers "save a lot of work for Hull Royal" by providing assistance on site.

She said a typical shift could include incidents such as cardiac arrest or someone suffering a stroke.

"Tonight there's going to be a lot of flashing lights, so people could have a reaction to the lights, so they could have an epileptic fit, " she added.

Other hazards can include trips and falls as well as scalds and burns from hot food and drink, Bowes said.

As well as the first aiders, St John Ambulance also has volunteer doctors at the fair.

Bowes said: "We can pretty much do anything that they can do at Hull Royal other than giving blood transfusions or X-rays.

"Our doctors can do any stitching, suturing here."

As well as providing assistance at the fair itself, the volunteers also serve residents who live in the vicinity of the event.

"If someone's unwell in this area, because it's actually quite difficult to get emergency services to them, they call us out to help," Bowes said.

The annual event, one of the largest travelling fairs in Europe, runs until 23:00 BST on Saturday 17 October.

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