TWO neighbouring ambulance services that have been working closely together have agreed to officially join forces.

The trust boards of Tees, East and North Yorkshire Ambulance Service (TENYAS) and West Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Services (WYMAS) have signed an official franchise and collaboration partnership.

The deal could lead to pay rises for frontline staff, as it is expected the deal will save both services money.

TENYAS has pledged to put its share - expected to be £100,000 - back into paramedic's pay packets.

TENYAS chief executive Trevor Molton will head both services.

An ambulance service spokeswoman said:"We will continue to share expertise and look forward to working even more closely together."

Mr Molton, who lives in York, was credited with dramatically improving Category A response times at TENYAS only 100 days after being made chief executive.

Category A times are those in which an emergency is classed as life threatening.

It put the service among the top performers in the country - a group that also includes WYMAS.

TENYAS chairman John Nelson said: "We are proud to be associated with what is the first franchise agreement in the ambulance service."

WYMAS chairman Shirley Tate also welcomed the join-up.

"We are very pleased to be working together," she said.

Updated: 10:42 Saturday, March 02, 2002