Tractor-Towed and Life-Saving: Sark’s New Horse Box Ambulance
By Community Correspondent
A former horse box has been given a new lease of life — and it’s now saving lives.
Thanks to materials donated by Ariel Plastics, the humble trailer has been transformed into a fully functioning ambulance that can be hitched up to a ‘blue light’ tractor and dispatched to medical emergencies on the remote Channel Island of Sark.
Life on Sark is famously car-free. With no private vehicles allowed, the island’s 500+ residents travel by foot, bicycle, or horse and cart.
So when emergencies happen, the local Community First Responders fire up a tractor, hitch up the ambulance, and head off across the island to reach patients as quickly as possible.
The Sark Ambulance Service is a volunteer-run emergency medical response team, supported by the island’s doctor and Ambulance and Rescue Guernsey.
The Guernsey team not only provides backup when required, but also operates the Flying Christine ambulance boat, permanently stationed in St Peter Port harbour, ready to transfer patients to Guernsey if needed.
When Sark’s previous ambulance began nearing the end of its working life, the Sark Ambulance Service sought help from Norman Piette — the largest timber and builders’ merchant in Guernsey.
In turn, Norman Piette approached trusted supplier Ariel Plastics to help bring the new vehicle to life.
Ariel Plastics — the UK’s largest plastics distribution company, serving the builders’ merchant market for more than 60 years — donated six Coroclad Satin solid PVC hygienic cladding sheets for installation inside the converted horse box.
The sheets are tough, durable, and designed to prevent microbial materials from being absorbed, making them ideal for a clean and hygienic medical environment.
While Ariel Plastics has seen its materials used in many unusual installations over the years, a horse box-turned-ambulance — towed by a ‘blue light’ tractor across one of the UK’s smallest Channel Islands — is certainly a first.
