AMBULANCE staff in Wiltshire are the worst in the country at responding to life-or-death calls, according to the latest batch of government statistics.

Last year the service only reached 55 per cent of emergency calls where a life was at risk within the government target of eight minutes the worst performance out of England's 31 trusts.

The damning statistics, released by the Department of Health, follow the service's zero star rating last year.

An unnamed worker said this week resources were overstretched, countywide ambulance cover was critically low and workers were becoming demoralised by a relentless stream of government statistics.

West Wiltshire MP Dr Andrew Murrison said although he was disappointed by the poor performance figures, underlying problems must be addressed.

The shadow health minister said: "I want to look at these figures a little more closely before making any definitive comment on whether these disappointing figures actually reflect a poor service to my constituents.

"We need to work out why Wiltshire has not done well.

"I shall be writing to the chief executive of the ambulance trust to get his side of the statistics, and I may very well be raising matters with ministers."

Speaking anonymously, one worker said the news had left staff feeling low.

"Learning we are the worst performing service in England when everyone is working so hard is very demoralising for staff," he said.

"We are caught up in a vicious circle where we are working 12-hour shifts, often without a break, only to be told we are under-achieving and as a result, the government is cutting our funding even further.

"The fact is that some nights there are 11 ambulances covering the whole of Wiltshire."

Wiltshire Ambulance Service received 10,400 life-or-death calls last year. The government demands that 75 per cent of category A calls, as they are technically known, should be answered in eight minutes.

For emergency calls where a life was not at risk, the service responded within 14 minutes in 87 per cent of cases, again missing the government target of 95 per cent.

Despite the statistics, Wiltshire Ambulance Service insisted things were improving.

Paul Gates, director of operations, said a review was under way to see how the service could forge a link with partners to increase response rates.

"The trust recognises there are still significant improvements to be achieved, however excellent progress is being made despite substantial increases in emergency calls.

"The challenge is that much greater in Wiltshire, where the commissioners of health services are under severe financial pressure, resulting in minimal investment in ambulance services being affordable."