Unsung community hero: Adam Platt

We are celebrating the region's unsung community heroes. In the first in our series, Natalie Walker speaks to Adam Platt, who, despite his own health problems, always puts the lives of others before himself.
Adam Platt receives a Young Citizen Award from assistant chief constable Mark Bates and Amanda Parker, High Sheriff of Lancashire at the timeAdam Platt receives a Young Citizen Award from assistant chief constable Mark Bates and Amanda Parker, High Sheriff of Lancashire at the time
Adam Platt receives a Young Citizen Award from assistant chief constable Mark Bates and Amanda Parker, High Sheriff of Lancashire at the time

f“I can put up with a bit of pain, as there is always someone more worse off.” Those are words that keep Adam Platt going when his joint pain flares up.

The 21-year-old doesn’t let his extreme discomfort through gout stop him from volunteering as a first aider as he knows there could be someone in greater need.

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From the age of 16, Adam has been a proactive and valuable asset to the community. He has helped to co-ordinate the delivery of blood samples to hospitals; taught life-saving skills and helped residents who were badly affected by the floods in Croston last Christmas.

Adam PlattAdam Platt
Adam Platt

So when did it all begin?

Adam, of Chorley, said: “The first time I volunteered was when I was 15. I started coaching at Euxton Girls Football Club. My sister played there and they were struggling for volunteers so I offered to help out

“I qualified as a coach and it helped me get into teaching, as I am now a teaching assistant at Essa Academy, in Bolton. This led to an apprenticeship at Bishops Rawstorne C of E Academy and I learnt first aid. From that point I decided I wanted to get out there and teach people life saving skills.

“My friend was a manager at Chorley FM and he asked me to help him promote his events in 2014. I became one of the first aiders and taught others. I really enjoyed my time there and it gave me a lot of confidence. I then joined Chorley Football Club, where I still volunteer today as a medic and steward.

Adam PlattAdam Platt
Adam Platt
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“I also volunteered in the dispatch team for Blood Bikers for nine months. I worked from 7pm until 2am and if there were any calls from the hospital saying they required a blood supplies, I co-ordinated the blood bikers to pick up samples to take it to hospital.

“I really enjoyed this as it tied in with my first aid knowledge. I know how important it is to get blood to the hospital if there has been an accident and how it can save a life. I was also a member of Chorley’s Angels’s first aid team before I got a paid role at Top to Toe Medical in Chorley, working weekends.

“And last year I provided first aid cover on Christmas Day for Pauline’s Angels, in Chorley. They provide a Christmas meal for people who would otherwise be alone. I am again helping out giving up my Christmas Day this year to help out.”

Adam’s kind nature doesn’t end there, as he didn’t think twice about giving up his Boxing Day to help Croston residents who had their homes ruined by the floods last year.

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He said: “Having worked at Bishops Rawstorne I knew quite a few pupils and colleagues who lived in the area.

“I took some cleaning products over to help with the clean-up. I also organised ASDA to bring food and cleaning products.

“I went knocking on people’s doors making sure elderly people are okay.”

Adam manages to dedicate his life to helping others, even when he is in unbearable pain due to gout.

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He said: “Uric acid levels causes crystals to form in my joints. Some days I can’t walk as I am in extreme pain. But even when I am in extreme pain I still volunteer.

“I think there is always someone more worse off than yourself. I can put up with a bit of pain. I don’t like letting my colleagues down. If I don’t go, something might happen.”

Adam’s efforts have not gone unnoticed, as he was third place in The High Sheriff of Lancashire’s Young Citizen Award earlier this year.

His former colleagues at Charlie’s Angels describe him as: “a breath of fresh air, one of the most loyal, trustworthy and reliable young man.”

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