Ambulance delays 'costing lives'

Delays by ambulance crews in England could be costing 2,500 lives a year, says the former chief executive of Staffordshire Ambulance Service.

Figures obtained by the BBC suggest some ambulance services are trying to resuscitate three-and-a-half times more cardiac arrest patients than others.

Amy Carter and Scott Hellings say they are still traumatised by the death of their three-month-old daughter Bella last March.

An inquest found a "chaotic" response had led to an ambulance not arriving at her home until 26 minutes after the 999 call.

East of England Ambulance Service said it had made mistakes but had learned lessons and was now recruiting an additional 400 paramedics.