Ambulances can find it tough to reach people in city centres

Bikemedic Iain Colquhoun said: "We have got pedestrian areas, we have got streets bordered off and the ambulance has to park, the crew then have to get their equipment and sometimes have to walk quite far.

"If you are having a cardiac arrest, or stop breathing, you need somebody there very quickly."

Mr Colquhoun believes he can cut response times by up to three minutes.

Roy Wallis, county commander of the East Anglian Ambulance Service, said: "We do have problems with the eight-minute response.

"What we are doing is looking at all new initiatives to move forward on the eight minutes."

The �900 bike comes complete with a siren and blue flashing lights, and is equipped to deal with most medical emergencies.

The bike's medical pack includes a defibrillator, drugs, blood pressure monitors and intubation and canulation equipment.