An ambulance service is spending hours dealing with speeding tickets issued to its drivers on 999 calls, it has been claimed.

East Anglian Ambulance Service has been sent 1,050 speeding tickets by Cambridgeshire Police in the past 12 months, said ambulance resource manager Philip Balls.

In the same period it received 27 speeding tickets from Suffolk, and none from Norfolk.

Both counties are also covered by the service.

Our concern is that the drivers might start slowing down... which could affect our eight minute emergency response times

Philip Balls, East Anglian Ambulance Service

To prove the driver was on an emergency call a form has to be sent to headquarters staff and individual ambulance stations, said Mr Balls.

He said: "On one day a driver could have between six and 10 forms to fill in.

"There is the speeding ticket to complete and there is an exemption form to complete and send back to police.

"It is time-consuming and other counties don't do it, so I don't know why Cambridgeshire do.

"Our concern is that the drivers might start slowing down to avoid the paperwork, which could affect our eight minute emergency response times."

Speeding tickets

Mr Balls said most speeding tickets come from cameras near Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.

A spokesman for Cambridgeshire Police said all emergency services are sent one form per incident asking if they were on a 999 call at the time of the speeding.

He said: "We have to ensure that people aren't just abusing the system.

"If an ambulance driver is going above the speed limit and not on an emergency call and knocks over a child we would be in trouble.

"Regardless of who you are you need to be able to justify your speed."

The spokesman said he was not aware that any ambulance drivers had been caught speeding when they could not prove they were on a 999 call.