Coventry City Council's health board has added its voice to the opposition against plans to merge ambulance services across the West Midlands.

Chairman Joe Clifford said forced unions were rarely a good idea.

A 2,500-name petition against the plan has been handed in to the government, and Staffordshire ambulance boss Roger Thayne quit his post in protest.

Barry Johns, head of West Midlands Ambulance Service, also resigned but he is not opposed to the merger.

Under the plans, ambulance trusts in Coventry and Warwickshire, Hereford and Worcester, West Midlands and Staffordshire will join forces.

The West Midlands Service merged with Shropshire in 2001.

Councillor Clifford added: "I am not convinced that, as far as Coventry and Warwickshire ambulance services are concerned, the proposal to create one of the biggest ambulance services in the world has been well thought out."