Aberaeron’s new first responder vehicle was officially handed over to firefighters at the town’s Memorial Hall on Friday afternoon thanks to an amazing £40,000 fundraising effort.

The Volvo XC60 was purchased following an extraordinary fundraising drive by the Aberaeron Town Improvements Committee, boosted by main sponsors Volac.

Huw Evans, of the Aberaeron Town Improvements Committee, told a large audience of the delight of the community when it was first announced that such a large sum had been raised.

“I’m as proud now as I was then to be part of this appeal,” he added. “It has touched and involved all sorts of people throughout the county.”

Roger Thomas, assistant chief fire officer of Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, said that as a rural area, Aberaeron and its environs posed a range of challenging issues.

“We have to be prepared to deal with a number of different risks in different ways,” he said.

“While medical response is a relatively new diversion for the service, there were 150 such incidents in the Aberaeron area over the past year and over 1,000 in the last five years.

“We work in collaboration with the Welsh Ambulance Service and the new first response vehicle is a real success story.”

Mayor Cllr Elizabeth Evans said she did not think there was anyone present “not bursting with pride” at what had been achieved.

“This is what happens when the whole community comes together to attain something that is so badly needed,” she said.

Paying tribute to the Aberaeron Town Improvements Committee, Cllr Evans added, amid laughter: “Who would have thought that a group of men could achieve quite so much?

“It’s absolutely amazing and I’m incredibly proud of you all.”

See this week’s south papers for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition now