Author: UK Emergency Vehicles

A Norfolk Priority Care 1994 ambulance based on a Ford Transit. This vehicle was originally with Essex Ambulance Service. The rear view, showing the livery that you cannot fail to miss!

A mark I Ford Mondeo ambulance car. This vehicle can be deployed completely unmarked, or can carry magnetic livery and a roof bar of lights if required. It has blue and red flashing lights on the rear parcel shelf and a matrix sign. It is also with Norfolk Priority Care.

Another Norfolk Priority Care ambulance, this time based on the older 1990 Ford Transit. This vehicle was originally with the Royal Air Force.

Here are two pictures of the same vehicle two years apart. This Fiat Ducatto ambulance was originally owned by Staffordshire Ambulance Service and was vehicle number 380. The vehicle had some frontal damage and was sold to Norfolk Priority Care which they repaired (hence no wipers on the headlights). They decided to keep Staffordshire's 380 number on it and added some of their own livery.

A Citroen Xsara (pictured below) rapid response ambulance car escorting an ambulance to an emergency. Both vehicle drove onto the pavement to pass bollards in the road. A few seconds later, both vehicles are on scene. The rear-facing red lights on the roof bar can be seen, as well as the blue and red repeater lights mounted inside the rear screen.

A Ford Focus paramedic rapid response car. This vehicle is a demonstrator vehicle provided by Ford. It does not have any unique county livery as it is passed around ambulance services for evaluation. Each county keeps it for a few weeks and Ford hopefully gets orders for them. These pictures were taken inside York's ambulance station. Y726 EEB A Ford Focus paramedic rapid response car. This vehicle is a demonstrator vehicle provided by Ford. It does not have any unique county livery as it is passed around ambulance services for evaluation. Each county keeps it for a few weeks and Ford hopefully gets orders for them.

A re-liveried TENYAS ambulance.

An army Land Rover (with blue light fitted) at an accident and emergency department.

A Citroen Xsara diesel rapid response car. The blue bar of lights are temporarily attached by using roof-rack mounts. The rear view shows the green diamond sticker warning that the vehicle carried compressed gas.

This medical car is a Ford Mondeo estate which carries oxygen, a defibrillator and trauma equipment. It is used for long distance transfers, medical standby duties at events and for conveying medical teams, organs or blood.

This is a 4 wheel drive off road support unit which attends events such as rally races, equestrian meetings and other rough terrain activities. An easy load trolley bed is fitted along with oxygen, suction, entonox and trauma equipment. The photographs of the Vauxhall Frontera and Ford Mondeo above are reproduced with kind permission of County Ambulance Services.

A 1989/90 Renault incubator unit ambulance. This vehicle is soon to be replaced (2001).

The St John Ambulance Crusader 900. Billed as 'the variable purpose vehicle for the 21st century' this £40,000 vehicle has been purpose built for the St John's and is standard throughout the country. [Rear View] This vehicle is specially designed to adapt from one role to another. It can be a mobile first aid unit, and accident and emergency vehicle, a special baby care unit, a mobile care unit and a community transport vehicle.

A 1993 Peugeot estate ambulance car.

An aged Humberside ambulance incident support vehicle.

A Volvo ambulance car belonging to a private company.

This is a Skoda Octavia "Zeus" Cardiac Fast Response vehicle from Norfolk Priority Care.

This is a luminous yellow Mercedes ambulance which is used in the rural areas around Wooler, Northumberland. The same vehicle with a regular NEAS Cheverolet ambulance.

Here we have a Chevrolet ambulance from the East Anglican fleet. N127 FVX has a 6.2 litre diesel engine and is pictured here outside the James Pagent Hospital's Accident and Emergency department, Gorleston, Norfolk.

Here we have two photos of M420 SFS, a Scottish ambulance Service Ford Transit.

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

This is a WYMAS Clinical Support Unit ambulance. This Vauxhall Frontera 4x4 was spotted in Leeds.

This is a 1993 Talbot ambulance from TENYAS's fleet.

This 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.

This is a NEAS Cheverolet on a blue light run in Gateshead. the 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.

This 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.

This 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.

This is a Mercedes Sprinter based ambulance.

This 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

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. An alternative front view

This 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.

This is Ford Escort dedicated to quick response calls.

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.

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 Land Rover Discovery J466 HVK.

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

This 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

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.

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

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

This 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

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 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.