Dozens of new ambulances are soon to be taking to the roads to help patients in Suffolk and the East ahead of Christmas. 

The East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST) has confirmed 40 new Renault Master ambulances will be rolled out by December. 

Twelve of these new ambulances were purchased last year and 40 more have now been bought to replace older vehicles.

The first 20 have been delivered and will be on the road soon while the others are planned to be in service by the end of the year.

Wayne Lawlor, head of fleet for the trust, said: "Our fleet of vehicles are worked hard - seven days and week - covering more than one million miles a month, and our Mercedes ambulances are due to be retired this year.

"The new Renaults will replace these and our crews and patients will have the benefit of newer ambulances as we go into the worst months of winter. 

"Our fleet team will be working to replace the ageing Mercedes and early generation Fiats and replace them with the new vehicles in the coming weeks."

These new ambulances will make up around 10% of the total fleet and include technology to turn off idling engines which will cut fuel use and reduce emissions.

The trust said further vehicles will be joining the fleet over the autumn, including Ford Transit and MAN TGE-based models.

This follows recent news that 38 of the trust's rapid response vehicles, which represented around 50% of the operational RRV fleet, had been affected by a potential fault. 

On Thursday, September 19, an EEAST spokesperson said the fault affected the siren and blue light systems in the cars under certain conditions.

The spokesperson added that 12 of the vehicles had the patch applied to them and were returning to service, with the remaining ones expected to be completed by Saturday, September 21.

Data unveiled by this newspaper last year revealed that, between August 1 and August 31, 2023, 239 breakdowns were recorded by EEAST, which at the time had a fleet of 489 dual-staffed ambulances.

During July 2023, data showed 113 breakdowns were recorded. 

Last year, a trust spokesperson said a replacement programme was underway to replace the ageing vehicles.