FEARS are growing that rural areas could be forgotten in an ambulance service shake-up.

Mersey Regional Ambulance Service says it is 'inevitable' Tattenhall Ambulance Station will shut.

Options include relocating in Tattenhall, moving to the Dragonhall police station, Waverton, or to standby points such as GP surgeries and even lay-bys.

Community leaders fear health bosses may be tempted to base ambulances closer to Chester to meet targets.

City and county Cllr Eveleigh Moore-Dutton (Con, Malpas & Broxton), told Malpas Parish Council : 'The ambulance station at Tattenhall no longer up to standard.

'They are proposing a patrol that is constantly in particular areas where they are likely to be needed.'

But Cllr Moore Dutton says there is a target to reach 75% of urgent 999 cases within eight minutes and 95% of less urgent cases within 14 minutes.

She fears the rural area may simply be forgotten since targets would be difficult to achieve there.

'There is a danger more of the ambulances will be located nearer to Chester,' she said.

Dialling 999? Pass on your postcode >>>

Dialling 999? Pass on your postcode

AMBULANCE service bosses are looking into claims an emergency switchboard operator refused to send an ambulance when the 999 caller could not provide a post-code for their location.

County councillor Eveleigh Moore Dutton described to Malpas Parish Council how a man collapsed at Tushingham church about a year ago.

She rang 999 on a mobile phone but the operator would not send an ambulance without a postcode. She had to arrange for him to be taken to hospital by car.

Fortunately, the case was not life-threatening.

Mike Barker, communications manager for Mersey Regional Ambulance Service, heard Cllr Moore Dutton relay the story at another meeting. Both he and a colleague were left 'perplexed and puzzled' because it was not policy to operate in this way.

He said the colleague was investigating but needed more details.

He said it was not necessarily the case the 999 call had been picked up by Mersey Regional Ambulance Service - it could have been relayed to North Wales or Shrop-shire.

Mr Barker confirmed both postcodes and a satellite navigation system were used to locate accident scenes.

He said most services used the same system.

Farndon parish councillor Margot Jones had a similar experience when she was involved in a road accident between Churton and Aldford in 2000, in which her car rolled over.

The other driver, who was not from the area, did not know the post-code when it was requested by the operator.

Despite being in a state of shock, Cllr Jones grabbed the phone.

She didn't know the postcode either but was able to provide a precise description of the location and became irate when the operator insisted on a postcode.

She said the tone changed, however, when she explained she had undergone a heart bypass operation 12 months earlier.

Fortunately, she was not seriously injured.