A FOREST couple say they were shocked when two firemen answered an emergency call for an ambulance.

Roy and Pauline Jennings said they had no idea that fire-fighters were sent as "first responders' if the Forest's only ambulance was unavailable.

The Great Western Ambulance Service says first responders are fully trained and are particularly used in areas such as the Forest where the number of emergency calls is relatively low.

Mrs Jennings called 999 when her husband's blood pressure more than doubled and his pulse started racing.

Mr Jennings, who has a heart condition, said: "I had a panic attack, which has never happened to me before and when I checked my blood pressure it was 250 over 155.

"Normally it would be 120 over 70.

"My wife called the ambulance but two firemen turned up because the ambulance was on its way to Gloucester from Lydney.

"The firemen and the ambulance crew were all excellent and I'm very grateful to them but I don't think they should be sending firemen to a 999 ambulance call.

"I don't think people in the Forest realise just how thinly stretched the ambulance coverage is.

"Having one ambulance for an area the size of the Forest is not acceptable. What price can you put on a person's life?"

Mrs Jennings said: "When I went to the door and saw two firemen I wondered what was going on."

A spokeswoman for the ambulance service said the first responders were at Mr Jennings's home in Lydney within eight minutes and the ambulance arrived 21 minutes after the call was received.

The standard for life-threatening incidents is for a clinical response to be made within eight minutes.

She said: "That clinical response can be an ambulance crew, a paramedic in a rapid-response vehicle, a trained community first responder or other healthcare professionals (for example doctors or community nurses) provided they have appropriate equipment.

"Community responders are high on the agenda in places such as Lydney as the number of emergency calls received in that area is low.

"It is extremely important to us that every patient receives the best possible care, including a quick response, but we must ensure we are doing this in the most cost-effective way – we are always mindful it is public money we are spending.

"We continually look at the number of resources available in all the areas across our patch and work with communities to make sure they are getting the best level of service possible from their ambulance trust."