North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust has selected Michelin CrossClimate+ tyres - a standard tyre with winter certification - for its 160-strong rapid response paramedic fleet.

Andy Pritchard, North West Ambulance Service fleet engineer - operations, said: “Our priority is to get to the patient as soon as we get the call. It doesn’t matter if there’s a blizzard, high winds, or torrents of rain – with lives at stake, safe mobility is key. With this change to our tyre policy, we can deliver rapid, expert, lifesaving care wherever it’s required.”

The Trust’s rapid response fleet previously fitted Michelin winter tyres year-round, which was a compromise on wear and performance during summer months.

By switching to CrossClimate+, the fleet’s tyres will last longer before replacement, which will in turn help to drive down fleet running costs.

The North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust covers approximately 5,400 square miles of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside, operating from 109 ambulance stations, and attending more than 952,000 incidents each year.

Pritchard adds: “Our fleet covers a diverse territory, from the Cumbrian hills to the city streets of Manchester, so we need tyres that will help us get to the patient, whatever the weather and road condition, as quickly and safely as possible.”

The service’s 1,042-strong fleet of mainline ambulances and patient transport vehicles also rolls on Michelin tyres, with tyres fitted exclusively by service provider ATS Euromaster.