COMMON sense seems to have died at South Central Ambulance Service with its decision to effectively ‘sack’ longstanding volunteer paramedic Godfrey Smith over the way he drove on his way to an emergency.

Mr Smith has been told his services are no longer required after he committed the heinous crime of rushing to save someone’s life in his SCAS car.

For a brief moment he drove on the wrong side of the road and hit a speed of 33mph in what is a 20mph zone in the city centre as he responded to a call that a man had collapsed with breathing problems.

Now if Mr Smith was some of thrill-seeking lunatic who was hitting 50mph in a crowded city street with pedestrians scattering before him then we would understand the ambulance service letting him go.

But he is a 64-year-old with 15 years service who was travelling at a speed that on most urban streets wouldn’t even warrant a speeding ticket.

He may have broken the rules but he was responding to a potentially life-threatening emergency – and most people would view his actions as not that disproportionate.

Not, it seems, South Central Ambulance Service – the organisation that infamously (and now ironically) employed a convicted murderer as a senior manager and never carried out any proper background checks on some staff.

It would have been far more measured to have pulled Mr Smith in and advised him of his future conduct rather than expelling him.

The decision smacks of the spineless backside-covering that is all too prevalent in some of our public services.

Volunteers like Mr Smith fill the gaps in SCAS’ services. Anyone contemplating wanting to do their bit for the community will now rightfully ask if they are actually valued by managers or just viewed as cheap and dispensable help.