INDEPENDENT consultants are to report on whether south Shropshire's ambulance services can cope with demand.

Their investigation comes amid public concern about the time an ambulance took to deal with a fatal road accident which occurred last month in Ludlow.

Ludlow MP Matthew Green has lent his support to those hoping the report will lead to more funding.

The investigation by Operational Research in Health was instituted before the Ludlow road accident when it took 34 minutes for an ambulance to arrive from Shrewsbury to take car passenger Ian Huffer to hospital where he died.

But the investigators have been asked to take the incident into account in looking at demand and resources in the area.

An internal inquiry into the accident on June 27 said 11 ambulances in Shropshire were available that night. Between 10.30 and 11.30pm, seven "had been committed to emergency and urgent calls in the county."

When the accident happened around 11.30pm, the nearest available ambulance was in Shrewsbury. Shropshire Ambulance Service admitted the delay "was not in keeping with the performance expected."