A Dumbarton fireman is one of three heroes who have come to the rescue to ensure doctors, nurses and carers are still able to get to work and help those in need despite the extreme weather conditions.

Gary O’Hagan, who works at the community fire station on Castlegreen Road, has joined forces with friend Ross McKinnon and Iain Braithwaite to drive the dedicated professionals to where they need to be, many of whom have been prepared to walk for hours on foot to make the journey.

Instead, the trio have been saving staff from trekking through the snow in sub-zero temperatures by picking them up in a Land Rover Discovery and two Land Rover Defenders, which belong to team-building and events company Amazing Days Scotland, where Ross is director and Iain is operations manager.

The men have mostly been taking staff to the Royal Hospital for Children in Govan, but Gary also explained how he picked up carer Paul in Dumbarton as he prepared to walk all the way to Helensburgh.

The 31-year-old said: “I took a carer through from Dumbarton down to Helensburgh this morning. That was my first drop off at half past five this morning.

“He was ready to walk actually and I met him not far from my house and asked him where he was going at that time and I said I’ll take you there. He didn’t really understand what I meant at first and I don’t think he was expecting someone to just approach him in the street and say I’ll take you to work.

“What was amazing was that this guy Paul was prepared to make the walk. I think it’s great that all the guys with the 4x4s have all come together to try to help out. But what is really amazing is that guys like Paul were prepared for a three hour walk in these conditions this morning just so that he could do his job.

“That to me says a lot that people like Paul are ready to make that journey to work just so he could help somebody and make their day a little bit easier.”

Ross, who posted the idea to help out on Facebook in a status which has now gone viral and has been shared over 19,400 times, also said it has been great to help out and that he has been overwhelmed by the response both from those they have helped and on social media.

The 37 year old explained: “We do 4x4 adventures all around Luss and in the hills at loch Lomond, so we had all these vehicles that were all kitted up for driving up the hills in the snow.

“I figured when I was watching the news last night and saw the people struggling to get to really important jobs, there is no point in me lying in my couch, twiddling my thumbs, watching the telly, so we thought we would get involved a wee bit and it’s been quite a nice experience to be honest. It’s been good fun.

“The reaction (on social media) has been mental. I didn’t anticipate that at all. It’s been nuts. The nurses have been brilliant, they have been in really good spirits.”

Fireman Gary, who occasionally helps out with events for Amazing Days, got involved after seeing Ross' post and said too that despite the tough conditions it has all been worthwhile.

He added: “I saw Ross’ post last night and I called him up straight away and I said look if you need help I’m available from first thing in the morning. He said I’m going to get up at five and I said well I’ll get up at five too.

“We can make it a lot easier for people with the cars, so while it was a struggle getting up this morning, you know it was totally worth it to help out people that are really dedicated to helping other people.

“The conditions this morning - the only word I can use to describe them is extreme. The road from Cardross to Helensburgh was wild. The visibility was low, the drifts were high. We were smashing our way through these snow drifts that were coming up on the bonnet of the car.

“Obviously we were one of the first vehicles to make our way across that road this morning, so the conditions were really really bad. They have got easier but some streets we had to take two or three runs to back the car up and take the car forward again and change a wee bit the way the car is set up so that we can get through.”