The Welsh Ambulance Service celebrated its long-serving members of staff at a ceremony in Newport.

Dedicated staff and volunteers with 20, 30, and 40 years of service were honoured with medals at the International Convention Centre on Friday.

Overwhelmingly, the awardees have a combined service duration exceeding 1,000 years.

Among the awardees was Paul Greatorex, the head of service for NHS 111 Wales, who has devoted 40 years to ambulance service.

Starting his career at the age of 22 in Weston-Super-Mare, Mr Greatorex moved positions throughout his career, including control officer, control room superintendent, and ambulance liaison officer.

He briefly considered retirement after finishing working as head of performance at Great Western Ambulance Service, but chose to continue his work by joining the Welsh Ambulance Service in 2021 as service manager.

He then climbed higher in the ranks to become the acting head of service for 111.

Now a father of five children with his wife Sarah, he shared his views on his lengthy career.

He said: "I have absolutely no plans to retire.

"I love what I do, and I can tell you from experience that the Welsh Ambulance Service is a fantastic organisation to work for.

"A year after I joined I experienced a health scare and the support myself and my family received was second to none.

"I am determined to remain with WAST and to help oversee the transformation of the 111 service."

Around 300 colleagues from all aspects of the Trust, including paramedics, emergency medical technicians, call handlers, operations managers, and corporate colleagues, were given the opportunity to receive a Long Service Award this year.

Chief executive Jason Killens spoke highly of them at the ceremony.

He said: "Working for the ambulance service takes a certain, special type of person.

"It is a job that makes a real difference as we tend to only see people when they are seriously unwell or suffering a medical emergency.

"Our staff are the people to whom they turn in those times of need, and it takes remarkable people to continue doing what they do, day in, day out.

"There is a wealth of experience amongst our people and it is humbling to think that the Long Service Awards we presented to the people in the room yesterday amounted to a collective service of a thousand years."

Chair of the organisation Colin Dennis expressed his admiration for the long-serving staff and volunteers.

He said: "These people are the reason the Welsh Ambulance Service is what it is.

"They work tirelessly, 24/7, to serve the people of Wales, making a huge difference to their communities.

"I am extremely proud of their achievements and would like to say a huge congratulations to all of our recipients."