This beautiful blue Subaru Impreza Turbo leads a secret life: green lights behind the grille indicate that it is used by an emergency doctor. The private registration (partly disguised) also hints at its emergency use, by having ‘999’ as the numerical element.
KC02 WXU This BASICS doctor Audi estate has green/yellow battenburg livery and unusually is fitted with blue flashing lights. Notice how the roof lights and grille lights are fitted without drilling, to help maintain the sell-on value of the car.
The rear of the car, this time with the doors closed. It is sponsored by Medi-Logistics.
A Peugeot 406 Emergency Doctor’s Car with simple green and white checker striping.
WV04 ZPJ This Fiat Stilo is an ambulance car. The side-by-side photos show it in the daytime and night-time. The car is used by members of the national charity First Response in the North East Ambulance Service area.
YP02 GEK is a Vauxhall Astra ambulance car that is used for rapid response work by the Scottish Ambulance Service.
This Suzuki Vitara is used by Ise Valley Ambulance Service in the Northamptonshire area. Notice the yellow front grille and amber centre to the roof light bar.
PVS 240R This is a Range Rover ambulance conversion that was new in 1976. It was still being used as a front line vehicle in 2006 as part of the (non-NHS) South Coast Ambulance Service, England.
DX54 OYT is a Honda CR-V that is a clinical support ambulance car attached in Shropshire. The blizzard conditions are no match for this two-wheel drive car with off-road ground clearance.
In this action scene you can see the police escorting an ambulance on a blue light run. Both services are training to transport a high risk prisoner to and from hospital. The police Volvos stay very close to the front and rear of the ambulance. A third police car rides way up ahead and creates a route through traffic and keeps junctions clear. A fourth police car (an unmarked Land Rover Discovery) is out of shot at the rear of the convoy. This could be used to force any bandit vehicles out of the way.
HX55 LJZ This yellow Iveco Daily ambulance service incident support vehicle is used by Hampshire Ambulance. Notice that it does not have a blue light bar, just a series of blue flashing leds on the bodywork.
HX55 MYA Hampshire also operate this 3.5-litre diesel LDV Maxus as a smaller incident support vehicle. Notice the very small blue flashing lights mounted into the front grille.
J479 TOA Still in service in 2007, this J-reg (1992) Leyland DAF is used by Hampshire as a mobile control unit at major incidents. The illuminating green and white checkers on the light bar indicate its control status. You can see that there is a ladder mounted on the side which allows staff to raise the roof-mounted communications equipment.
HX05 BCU This silver Volvo V50 is used by Hampshire Ambulance Service to respond quickly to emergencies. It can get to a job faster than a traditional ambulance and begin to treat the patient while the ambulance is still making towards the scene.
EY53 GNP This Volvo XC90 is used by St. John in London for Pediatric Retrieval Services. Notice the yellow bonnet that helps to increase the conspicuousness of the car.
The rear view of the XC90.
SY54 LRX and SY05 YUX are British Red Cross Nissan D22 4×4 pick-ups. The unusual vehicles have a large box on the rear portion to carry equipment. They are liveried as Emergency Response Units and are fitted with snorkels to drive through deep water.
WA06 ULJ This Nissan Patrol has had its roof heightened as part of its conversion to an ambulance. This makes more height inside and also allows the blue lights to be integrated into the bodywork. It is run by the British Red Cross.
DU54 TFO This silver Nissan Navara is a Staffordshire Ambulance Community First Responder Vehicle.
The rear view of the Navara. Interestingly they have opted for red and white checkers on the back rather than the traditional diagonal red and yellow chevrons.
Y348 GUD is a Volvo V40 that is used by Severn Ambulance and Medical Services.
This green Citroen C5 is a private ambulance decked out in green and white checkers.
G590 XJV is a Mercedes 310 diesel ambulance from 1989. This vehicle is used by Conocophillips and Total at the Humber Oil refinery. It is used to provide medical assistance at the massive oil processing site.
The rear view of the Mercedes.
XTL 845S is an immaculate Ford Transit mark 1 ambulance dating from 1977 which was still in use nearly thirty years later when photographed in 2006. Just like the Mercedes above it is fully operational with blue lights and sirens an is used at the Humber Oil refinery.
The rear view of the Ford Transit. It was sold in 2008 and is now in preservation. By the end of 2008 it had covered just 14,000 miles from new.
HX56 AUC This Renault Master ambulance is used by BMI Healthcare at Mount Alvernia Hospital.
120 MMN andD8 LRO are two Land Rovers that are used by an organisation called ‘Extreme Medics’. They provide medical cover to events in remote areas
Towed by the Land Rovers to the events are two custom built 7.5 metre trailers. They are self-contained mobile casualty units for treatment of injuries at the event site.
Here is the red Land Rover 110 in the terrain it was built for: snowy and icy gradients. Notice that the vehicles have clear blue light bars fitted on the all-terrain ambulances.
C8 LRN is another Land Rover 90 from Extreme Medic’s fleet. It is used as a rapid response unit.
120 MMN A closer look at the grey Land Rover 90 against the backdrop of a wintry sun over a lake.
130 MMN is a blue Land Rover Discovery 3 that is also used by Extreme Medics.
This all-terrain quad bike is used by Extreme Medics as a fast response unit. It is fitted with a blue flashing light and carries some essential medical equipment.
S909 VBC This red Land Rover Discovery is used by NESST Rescue, a Scout-run ambulance organisation.
This Range Rover ambulance is being used for medical support at an off-road motorbike event. It is owned by Emergency Medical Ambulance Service UK.
HK05 RXM This yellow Vauxhall Astra is used by London Ambulance’s Clinical Education and Development section.
H231 AHS This is a Iveco-Ford truck that is used by the British Red Cross as an Emergency Support Unit. It was spotted in Inverness.
OU06 CXC This Nissan Pathfinder ambulance conversion was new to St. John at Letchworth Garden City in August 2006. It was the first vehicle of its type to come into service and it is designed so a patient on a spinal board can be carried.
The rear view of the same Pathfinder.
EO54 LGK and EY54 WYC are two Lewis Day Transport MG ZT-T V6 190 ambulance cars. Behind them is a Ford Transit Connect.
S115 SBH is a Vauxhall Vectra that belongs to ‘Emergency Medical Ambulance Service UK’. They are a private ambulance service based in Yorkshire. Behind the Vectra are two Ford Transit ambulances.
SK06 AOX This is a Scottish Ambulance Service VW LT46 TDI which has been converted by UV Modular. It is one of the most northerly emergency vehicles in the UK, being based at Kirkwall, Orkney.
The rear view of the same ambulance. You can see how one of the rear doors is actually a ramp that folds down to allow easy access for a stretcher. This reduces the chance of back injuries by the paramedics lifting patients.
A137 PNC This Land Rover Forward-Control ambulance is decked out in army dessert camouflage colours. It has flip-down signs on each side to show a red + on a white background. This can only be shown when the vehicle is being used as an ambulance and offers some protection against being attacked in combat. There is a small blue flashing light on the roof and two repeaters on the front.
T709 BEG This Isuzu Trooper is used by Merlin First Aid Services as an emergency response unit. It can also tow an emergency support unit trailer.
YJ56 VDE This is a YAS Honda ST1300 motorbike. It is used for rapid response calls and is ridden by a paramedic. There are two red and one blue lights facing rearwards where the matrix sign is often located. Notice that the rider is wearing his own helmet and leathers. This is because it is on a test run as it was brand new at the time. You can even see the coloured marks on the rear tyre that haven’t rubbed off yet.
G947 LGN This is a jumbo ambulance, or jumbulance. It is a converted double-decker coach that is used for transporting large numbers of people. Notice the addition of four blue lights on the front and rotating beacons on the roof.
This RAF ambulance is a 6-wheeled go-anywhere Pinzgauer.
RX55 MXD is a Citroen Berlingo used for patient transport by St. Mary’s NHS trust in London. The inset shows the rear view.
LJ55 YBO is an LDV Maxus and is also used by the same trust for patient transport duties.
LJ05 FHV is a Honda ST1300 Pan-European used by LAS. This bike features both a day glow ambulance yellow paint scheme and a narrow battenburg stripe.
The rear view of the bike showing the equipment carried on the fuel tank. Note how this bike also has a dot matrix display similar to police versions.
A close up of the front of the bike showing the high intensity flashing LED lights.
EU05 AYE is a Ford Transit high dependency ambulance used by Caring For You. As written along the side of the vehicle, they are working in partnership with an NHS trust.
FX54 HBC This Mercedes Benz Sprinter 311CDI has been converted into an ‘alternative response vehicle’ for Lincolnshire Ambulance Health Transport Service.
OU55 GVN This is a Volvo V50 ambulance demonstrator. It does not have any county-specific wording or crests on the body. Inset: a close up look at the blue lights on the grille. Two small LED clusters are mounted through the grille’s bars.
RE06 ETR This is a diesel VW Jetta TDI. It is operated by The West Berkshire Rapid Response Car Fund charity and carries West Berkshire Council logos.
H12 DDS, S886 AWU, and J999 FCA This is a line up of three ambulance cars used by First Choice Ambulance Service. On the left is a Vauxhall Astra TD, in the middle is a silver Vauxhall Vectra 16v and on the right is a Vauxhall Zafira DTI.
YX55 DCO This Mercedes Benz ambulance has had the name of the NHS trust that operates it removed. Due to changes in the geographic structure of the English ambulance services in July 2006, many ambulances required the operator’s name changing. This vehicle is awaiting its new wording.