AMBULANCE crews are set to strike again in Yorkshire this weekend.

The Yorkshire Ambulance Service said the latest industrial action by Unite the Union would run from 3pm today until 7am tomorrow.

Ian Brandwood, Executive Director of HR, said he was 'very disappointed' that Unite had decided to go ahead with the strike, despite recent constructive talks with senior representatives at the union.

“The Trust has taken all reasonable procedural steps to resolve the dispute and has fully cooperated with the course of action agreed with the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS)," he said.

"We have continued to liaise directly with senior Unite officials and ACAS throughout this week to try and avert the strike action.

“Once again the industrial action will take place without any concessions for the most seriously ill and injured patients and we remain extremely concerned over this type of action.

"We will continue to make every effort to get to patients as quickly as possible, whilst maintaining high standards of patient care."

He urged people only to call 999 for an ambulance when someone had a life-threatening or serious illness or injury.

Unite has said previously that the crux of the dispute was the introduction of elongated shift patterns which could mean staff working ten hours without a meal break.

It claimed it was only a matter of time before someone was seriously injured or killed as a result of staff exhaustion.

A Unite spokesman said: “Unite has tried very hard over the last 15 months to resolve these issues relating to patient safety. Unfortunately, we have not made the progress we would have liked in that time.”