Avon firefighters are supporting the NHS by driving ambulances.
- Credit: AFRS
More than 80 Avon and Somerset police officers are ill with Covid-19 and another 47 could be infected.
Chief constable Andy Marsh is cancelling rest days and offering overtime to tackle lockdown breaches, and is also set to consider a request for officers to drive ambulances to support stretched NHS services.
Firefighters across Avon and Somerset have put in hundreds of shifts since the start of the pandemic driving ambulances and have responded to more than 1,400 incidents.
The South Western Ambulance Service Foundation Trust (SWASFT) this week appealed to the region’s police forces for additional blue light emergency drivers.
Chief Constable Andy Marsh is cancelling rest days and offering overtime to tackle lockdown breaches. He is also set to consider a request for officers to drive ambulances to support stretched NHS services. Firefighters across Avon have put in hundreds of shifts since the start of the pandemic driving ambulances and have responded to more than 1,400 incidents. The South Western Ambulance Service this week appealed to the region’s police forces for additional blue light emergency drivers. Speaking to police and crime commissioner Sue Mountstevens on Facebook Live, Chief Constable Marsh said: “Many people are making sacrifices. Most people can now say this pandemic has touched their lives in some way.