CHRISTMAS shoppers still struggling to find the perfect present for their loved ones have been given a potentially life-saving suggestion by a south Buckinghamshire paramedic.

Marc Lister, who works for South Central Ambulance Service, thinks a house number which can be clearly displayed outside a home could make the perfect gift.

Earlier this year he warned vital minutes were being lost in emergency call-outs, as paramedics were left frantically trying to find homes which had names instead of numbers.

He said lives could be put at risk by the habit, which is common across south Bucks.

Mr Lister, a member of High Wycombe's Cycle Response Unit, said: “If you really love somebody and don't know what to give them for Christmas, then why not buy them a house number?

“Accidents happen to everybody – everybody could possibly need an ambulance or police car to come to their house one day, and they need to see where to go.”

Earlier this year Mr Lister said in some roads ambulance staff had to stop outside every single house and run down the driveway to check the name of the home.

He added this could happen once or twice in every shift, or for every ten call-outs.

He said: “We know behind one of the doors down the road there could be someone who is dead or dying and desperately needs our help.

“If they had a house number it really could save their life.”