Category: Ambulance (General)

H229 AHS is an Emergency Support Unit based in Aberdeen. It is used during major incidents and holds a large number of fold up stretchers.

S57 ACP is a WYMAS Clinical Support Unit ambulance. This Vauxhall Frontera 4×4 was spotted in Leeds.

L908 GVN is a 1993 Talbot ambulance from TENYAS’s fleet.

M112 GAG is a Ford Transit from WYMAS. Notice the bonnet is a different colour to the rest of the bodywork and the location of lights and the siren.

P872 LWC is a NEAS Cheverolet on a blue light run in Gateshead.



The above ambulance is now parked behind a rapid response (unmarked) Ford Focus. Rapid response cars are being used increasingly in the NEAS area to cut down response times to meet Government standards.

NT 27 AA is an Territorial Army Ambulance. Notice the location of the siren and the somewhat contradictory camouflage colour with large red cross.

Here is a St. John Ambulance emergency shelter. It is collapsible and can be deployed anywhere that it is needed.

R360 ONL is a Nissan Primera. It has a 2.0 litre engine and is used as a quick response unit. Nissan used this car as a trial for new electronic equipment. A representative would come out periodically and remove the ash tray to reveal a data port. They would connect a laptop computer to download how many times and for how long each gear had been used for. It was intended that the car would cover 100,000 miles in 18 months, which is near impossible as it started its life doing short patient transportation duties before it was converted to quick response! Incidentally, the electronic gear watching equipment made the car no different to drive to any other.



The side view of the Nissan test car.

A Chevrolet ambulance. The chassis has been adapted to cope with winding British roads instead of the traditionally straight American ones.

P294 JNE is a Mercedes Sprinter based ambulance.

S59 JJR is a Ford Transit ambulance with a larger back on it. You can see the bright livery from the front and note the odd place for the repeater blue lights which are normally mounted on the grille.



A closer look

W706 PFT an ambulance service vehicle. It looks like any other metallic green Ford Focus, but place the rotating beacon on the roof, put the flashing light on the dashboard and turn the siren on and you have an emergency vehicle! The NEAS run many of these vehicles, all lease cars, which are replaced every three years. The dashboard-mounted and magnetic roof lights are used to avoid cutting holes in the car which the next owner may not appreciate. Hand-held radios are used to avoid aerial holes too.



An alternative view

Here are 3 views of one of a fleet of a Mercedes ambulance X286 BVN introduced in 2001. The rear view clearly shows the much increased space from previous models.



The front view



An alternative front view

M775 KCU is a Renault 19, used by NEAS with its range of blue lights flashing. These vehicles were used prior to the arrival of the Focus above.

N638 GFA is Ford Escort dedicated to quick response calls.

We start with a West Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service (WYMAS) VW Collet R231 DFC. West Yorks used to have the distinctive livery of a ‘heartbeat’ down the side of all their emergency vehicles. Notice the orange rotating beacon on the roof which means that it must be based near an airport. This will be used to comply with the Civil Aviation Authority rule that all vehicles on airport taxiways must show an orange flashing light.



The front view

Here is a picture donated by a viewer of vehicles from the British Red Cross County Durham and Teesside branch.

A photograph of two Northumbria Ambulance Service (now part of NEAS) Honda Pan-European emergency paramedic motorbikes and a Landrover Discovery J466 HVK.

Here is a photo of an ambulance built by Crestline Coach Ltd. of Saskatoon, Canada.

H945 UHH is a picture of a Ford Transit ‘RA6’ which belongs to the Red Cross.

This model shows the colour scheme of London Ambulance Service vehicles

M455 NVP is a LDV ambulance photographed at York race course



The side view



The rear view

Here we have a look through the rear window of a St. John Land Rover Discovery ambulance J536 VAJ. Note the stretcher on the left, equipment stored on the right and radio in the front.

H640 OPY is another St. John ambulance with a brighter livery! Inset: the front view.

K23 MRH is a Land Rover Discovery ambulance. One of its uses is towing trailers of equipment or exhibitions.

S877 BUA is a Ford Escort ambulance car run by TENYAS.

An ambulance is quickly on the scene at a horse racing accident at York. The horse decided to go straight on at a corner, damaging the fencing and throwing the jockey to the ground. This photo was taken less than one minute after the fall, which was watched live on Channel 4 Racing and satellite’s The Racing Channel on 16 June 2001.



Later, the jockey is transferred to another emergency ambulance which takes him to hospital. The first ambulance can then resume its role of following the horses as they race. Here, the Mercedes Sprinter ambulance S772 VAT leaves the racecourse

W695 MRA Here are a number of photographs of a Mercedes-Benz A Class quick response ambulance car. The North East Ambulance Service started to use these cars in the late 1990s to complement motorcycles already in use. Notice the large data terminal for dispatch information next to the driver and the conspicuous colour scheme! They are good for around town driving, but not so good on high-speed runs. Fingers crossed it stays upright!



The front view from a different angle



The rear view



The side view



A look at the top of the vehicle



The inside of the car

Here is a Quick Response Unit ambulance. Based at Kitty Brewster Industrial Estate, Blyth, with the North East Air Ambulance. There is no hospital there, just the helipad and hanger.

Above is a 1993 K-reg Mercedes ambulance. It used to belong to Durham Ambulance Service, but had the wording changed in 1999 when the Durham was merged with other counties to form the North East Ambulance ‘supertrust’.