COUNCILLORS in Oswestry have agree a motion to invite West Midlands Ambulance Service's (WMAS) top brass to explain response times in the area.

At Wednesday's full council meeting, a motion from Councillor Paul Milner to bring senior officers or board members of WMAS to the Guildhall, and was backed by members.

Mr Milner says he is acting on the concerns raised to him by Oswestry residents on the response times of ambulances to the SY10 and SY11 postcodes, and felt that the continued no-shows by WMAS at Oswestry Health Group meetings can no longer carry on.

Cllr Milner also raised the subject of how defibrillators are being serviced in the town, and plans to add it to the list of questions he aims to put to them.

"The batteries and pads of the defibs have a shelf life and need replacing at a cost of £500," he said.

"I would like to get WMAS here to explain how they’re going to be replaced.

"Also, I’ve been unable to get specific response times for these areas of SY10 and SY11, so I would like to know what they are. They are obviously not meeting their targets so I am asking for council support to ask for a representative to come here."

Cllr Milner added: "We want a representative or a member of the board.

"I'm disappointed by the lack of their attendance at the Oswestry Health Group over the last nine months.

"If we can get a representative, an answer I'm looking to know what the response times for calls in category A and if they've been over 30 minutes when they should be seven or eight."

In the meeting, Cllr Milner's motion was initially questioned by former mayor Cllr Sandy Best, who highlighted Cllr Milner's presence in the Health Group.

She said: "My first thought when I saw the motion is that you sit on the health group and it’s one that WMAS is invited to attend.

"You’re asking the council to duplicate what the health group haven’t been able to do and get them here.

"I think it is rather more pertinent to discover why WMAS did not provide any details to the BBC on response times? Or not going to Owen Paterson’s Health Group.

"Why do you think they would send two people here? You are better off writing a letter to them."

But Cllr Milner's motion was supported by both Cllrs Chris Schofield and Vince Hunt.

Cllr Schofield said: "We are a town council and I think, as a statutory body, we should get them here."

Cllr Hunt said: "I will also back the motion and I know of two incidents where ambulances took more than an hour."

He added: “It’s not good enough, I think they should be invited here. We could write a letter but it’s organic and we want answers."

The motion was carried unanimously.