THE increase in the number of ambulances passing through Princes Risborough has raised concerns, with one resident saying it sounds like the "wild west."

Cllr John Coombs from Princes Risborough Town Council put in a Freedom of Information request to South Central Ambulance Services after he noticed a vast increase in the number of blue light journeys.

The results showed that over a six month period between April 1 and October 24 there were 4,118 ambulance movements- nearly 3,000 of these required blue lights.

And the ambulance service said there has been an 11 per cent increase in demand compared to the same period last year.

Last October Wycombe Hospital replaced the emergency ward at Queen Alexandra Road with The Minor Injuries and Illness Unit- which means more patients are taken to Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

Patients from the Wycombe area can also be taken to the Aylesbury for A&E.

Cllr Coombs said he was concerned at the number of journeys being made just to transfer patients.

He also raised concerns about the safety of the pelican crossing in Horns Lane.

The response from The South Central Ambulance Service said: "The increase in the number of ambulances travelling through Princes Risborough will be directly proportional to the unprecedented demand we are seeing at this time.

"Buckinghamshire has seen an 11 per cent increase in demand in comparison to last year."

Cllr Hall said: "A lot of people are objecting to sirens. A lady who lives nearby said when opens her back door in the morning it sounds like the wild west."

But councillors were quick to point out the issue was about the realignment of services, rather than the ambulance crews.

Cllr Reg Orsler said: "I have had people mentioning it to me and it is incessant. The question, I suppose, is how many of these trips are absolute emergencies or how many are normal transfers?"

Further information obtained by Cllr Coombs showed that 1,015 of the journeys were priorities 0 to 1, which needs an eight minute response time and blue lights.

Out of the journeys 1,913 were priorities two, three and five, which need a 20 minute response and blue lights. Priorities seven and eight are within 30 minutes and there were 568 trips and priority nine is for transfers and discharges of which there were 102.

There were seven priority four journeys (pre-alert) and 513 priority six, which are non emergency. The council agreed to send a letter raising their concerns to the Health and Adult Social Care Select Committee.