North-east politicians have demanded answers from ambulance service bosses amid fears lives are being put at risk by cutbacks.
MSP Stewart Stevenson and MP Eilidh Whiteford MP have already called for an inquiry after figures revealed response times in the Peterhead and Fraserburgh areas were the worst in the country.
Now members of a local community safety group are piling the pressure on mercy chiefs to act to reassure the public.
Concern has grown follow a study which revealed paramedics took longer than 20 minutes to respond to more than 1,000 life-threatening incidents across the north and north-east in the last year.
Peterhead and Fraserburgh were the worst affected places in the country, with Scottish Ambulance Service crews in the towns taking more than double their target time of eight minutes on 83 call-outs.
Last night, Fraserburgh SNP councillor Brian Topping, who chairs the town’s community safety group, said members planned to write to ambulance bosses about the level of full-time cover in Aberdeenshire.
He said: “There are two full-time ambulances in Fraserburgh now.
“Going back a few years, Banff had two. Now it only has one. Peterhead had two, now it only has one full-time.
“We want them to reassure the public about what they’re doing.
“We are concerned. We feel, as a safety group, lives are potentially being put at risk.”
A spokesman for Dr Whiteford said last night she plans to meet ambulance chiefs as part of a follow-up to a recent fact-finding mission she took part in.
A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman, meanwhile, said it was working hard to improve response times and insisted no cuts were planned.
He said: “The average response time for a life-threatening emergency in Grampian is 7.2 minutes and staff are working harder than ever as demand continues to rise.
“There has not been any planned reduction in ambulance resources, however a number of vacancies in some areas are impacting shift cover at times.
“Wherever possible, these shifts are covered by overtime and the local team are recruiting to fill vacancies to increase provision in the area as a matter of priority.
“The local management team would be happy to meet with local councillors to address any concerns that they may have.”