The Oxford Mail Medibike will be back on the road soon to boost Oxfordshire ambulance service's flagging response times, writes Victoria Owen.

The 17,000 state-of-the-art machine bought with money from Mail readers was written off in a crash and has been off the road for three months.

Ambulance chiefs admit that its absence from the roads has been one of the reasons for a drop in crews' performance.

The Government insists that at least three-quarters of emergency calls should be answered in eight minutes.

Latest figures show that Oxfordshire ambulance crews are responding to only 47.6 per cent of calls within the time limit.

In 1997, the figure was 53.5 per cent. Managers believe that their response times will improve once the Medibike is back on the road in the next few weeks.

A replacement machine will arrive soon. Ambulance spokesman Mr Aubrey Bell said: "The Medibike does improve our response we have evidence of that.

"The bike crashed and was written off and we have had to go through the process of insurance. But the riders are champing at the bit to get back in the saddle."

The Medibike, delivered to the ambulance service in June, proved that it could dash to patients more quickly than standard ambulances as it weaved in and out of traffic. On-board equipment, including defibrillator, oxygen and drugs for trauma, meant that the paramedic could treat patients at the scene while other vehicles were on their way.

Within weeks, it had covered hundreds of miles to help in accidents and emergencies across the county.

The Medibike has been out of commission since the accident in July when paramedic Eddie Webb was badly injured after a crash at Wallingford.

Other measures brought in to improve the ambulance service's performance include new control room computers, more staff and newer vehicles.