DORSET ambulance crews are rising to the challenge of dealing with increased numbers of emergency calls.

The volume of 999 call-outs has increased by up to a fifth in some areas of the country, it has been reported.

Figures due to be published in April are expected to point to a sharp rise in calls, which is putting pressure on paramedics.

Dorset's level of calls has risen 8.7 per cent in the past year, to 60,384, just above last year's national average rise of six per cent.

But the South West Ambulance Trust says the target for meeting category A calls - those classed as emergency or life-threatening - is being beaten in Dorset.

A spokesperson for the trust said: "The ambulance crews throughout the county do a fantastic job.

"The government target for category A calls is to reach 75 per cent of patients within eight minutes.

"This target is regularly met and exceeded consistently throughout the county.

"The latest monthly category A figures for Dorset showed that over 80 per cent of patients were reached within eight minutes."

Kevin Lyons, secretary for the South West branch of the Ambulance Service Union, said the more gradual rise in the number of calls meant crews were adapting to the demands.

He said: "In some areas we have improved and it is being managed pretty well.

"We have noticed the increase over time but that is why extra resources have been brought in."

However, the picture being painted across the country is not quite so rosy.

The BBC says the North East and West Midlands services could record increases up to 20 per cent.

The Ambulance Service Union blames the fact that fewer GPs are available at night and also points to a recent British Heart Foundation campaign to raise awareness of chest pains to explain the increase.

Union spokesman Ray Carrick said: "There's people thinking that in the night-time, perhaps, there's no GP service available, therefore the only option they have is to ring 999."

Emergency 999 calls hit a 10-year high of nearly six million in England during 2005-06