Your article "Amateurs go on 999 calls" (The Argus, November 1) correctly identified the support the Red Cross gives the Sussex Ambulance Service.

This is part of a formal agreement with the NHS in Sussex to provide a pool of ambulance reservists who can be called upon when the service is under pressure.

These reservists are highly trained by the NHS ambulance service.

They are skilled in resuscitation, defibrillation, the administration of entonox and oxygen and advanced manual handling.

Our volunteers have never been placed in situations they are not trained to deal with.

We value the opportunity to work with the Sussex Ambulance Service and are proud of our role.

-Lee Milne, operations director, British Red Cross, Kent and Sussex