AMBULANCE officials have hit back at claims they are using fire engines to plug an alleged gap in their service.

After an incident earlier this year in Hartlepool, when a fire engine responded to a 999 call for an ambulance to help a heart attack victim, there were claims that, due to sickness and holidays, the ambulance service was short-staffed.

This has been refuted by ambulance officials.

Ray Walker, assistant director of the Tees East and North Yorkshire Ambulance Service has stressed that the ultimate aim of all the emergency services is to save lives.

He told The Northern Echo that under a Government initiative, fire crews or police officers, trained to use defibrillators, were encouraged to help heart attack victims when asked by the ambulance service.

He said: "All our concerns are to save lives. It is creating a seamless service.

"We do not say we will send a fire crew to every heart attack, but the first moments are essential.

"If we are on another emergency call and cannot get to a scene for ten minutes surely it is better to send a trained fire crew, who can be there in two minutes, and we will get there as soon as we can."

Mr Walker brought the system of emergency crews working together to assist heart attack patients from America, where a 991 call about a cardiac arrest could be answered by any of the services.

He said: "We can only ask the fire brigade or police to help us, we can't demand it - but we all want to save lives."

The trust has written to Hartlepool MP, Peter Mandelson, to request a meeting to explain the Government policy after he voiced concerns about fire crews helping heart attack victims.

Mr Walker said: "There is absolutely no gap in the ambulance services, but, at peak response times, we may call on the fire brigade for heart attack patients."

Mr Walker went on to stress that various community and voluntary organisations had also been trained to use defibrillators to use in heart attack emergencies