On Tuesday, Liz Staveley, 55, will be swapping Snaith for Kabul, where the recent conflict has put great strains on the emergency services.

She will concentrate on training people in how to deal with accidents in the home where most injuries occur.

Mrs Staveley, the assistant county commissioner for St John in Doncaster, has done similar training in Kenya.

Life and death

And as well as training people in how to cope with broken bones, bleeding and heart attacks, she will also be on the lookout for people with the potential to become trainers themselves.

"By training people to become trainers we can make it possible for more people to learn how to deal with injuries in and out of the home," she said.

"Knowing what to do in the event of an emergency can mean the difference between life and death, especially in communities where help is not readily at hand."

Mrs Staveley will be working in Kabul alongside Johanniter - Germany's equivalent of the St John Ambulance - until April when she returns to the UK.