Anger over 999 ambulance videos

There is no suggestion the ambulance was being driven dangerously

Videos showing ambulances on emergency calls and posted on internet website YouTube are "clearly unacceptable", an ambulance trust has said.

The six videos - filmed from the passenger seat - show the vehicle travelling at speed though parts of Bristol and Weston-super-Mare.

Great Western Ambulance Trust said each crew member was expected to make sure their vehicle arrived safely.

"We'll investigate and take appropriate action," a trust spokeswoman said.

She added: "We will be issuing a reminder to staff about their duties while travelling in a trust vehicle."

To undermine the...dedication of those services, while glamorising something which rips apart and devastates families is extremely offensive Cathy Keeler, road safety campaigner

The six videos, filmed over a four-month period, show cars pulling over and the driver manoeuvring through traffic, negotiating roundabouts and junctions with stopped vehicles.

Radio traffic can be heard on the video as can comments between the crew.

There is no indication that the filming is distracting the drivers' judgement.

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One of the YouTube videos

Road safety charity Brake said it was "alarming" that someone in the passenger seat of an ambulance feels it is in any way appropriate to film a driver on an emergency call and post it on the internet.

"Emergency service personnel have to cope day in, day out with the horrific carnage caused by speeding drivers," spokeswoman Cathy Keeler said.

"To undermine the professionalism and dedication of those services, while glamorising something which rips apart and devastates families is extremely offensive."

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