THE IRISH RED Cross has bought two  ‘bicycle ambulances’ – and will use them to keep tabs on cyclists on Sunday’s city bike ride in Dublin.

The capital’s Lord Mayor Andrew Montague launched the ‘First Responder Bike Units’ during the week. The two bikes will be based in the Santry branch of the Red Cross but will be on duty for the first time at the Sky Ride this Sunday, when many city streets will be closed to all but two-wheeled traffic.

The responder bike units are ridden by trained Red Cross volunteers and are kitted out with essential first aid equipment – including a defibrillator. Paul Conway, chairman of the Santry branch, said he hoped that these would be just the first such bikes which would be used at public events. The Larkhill and District Credit Union donated the defibrillator for the unit.

Bicycle responder units are already being used in Ireland by the Civil Defence – the Dublin Civil Defence have been operating on bicycles for over a year now. They are also used by the Order of Malta and St John Ambulance. They have become a fixture in emergency medical aid provision in other countries over the last decade. The NHS has 60 such staff employed in London. They allow medics and first-aid providers to reach casualties more quickly in places which larger modes of transport would find difficult to access.

Anyway, this is what to look out for on a street near you soon: