South West Ambulance Service has blamed an increase in demand and the rural nature of the region after it missed its emergency call-out response targets in October.

A report has revealed that 71.68% of the most urgent 'red 1' calls, compared with a target of 75%, was achieved within the eight-minute response time.

These include cardiac arrest or life-threatening traumatic injuries, with the trust's performance below the national average of 75.16%.

A  target for red 2 calls - for patients with serious breathing difficulties or a suspected stroke, was also missed.

A Trust spokesperson said: “The data for ambulance services nationally shows that the targets for red 1 and red 2 calls were narrowly missed during the month of October.

“South Western Ambulance Service was one of the organisations who unfortunately did not meet the required 75 per cent on this occasion. Like all ambulance trusts around the country, the service is facing an ongoing increase in demand for its services meaning more calls to respond to and increasing numbers of patients requiring care.

“An additional challenge for the south west region is that it is predominantly rural, with many isolated communities. This area of the country also has the highest percentage of elderly people who are more likely to access our services, especially in the run up to and during winter.

“The Trust would like to make an assurance that the provision of high quality emergency and urgent care services remains our top priority.”