County paramedics are getting to life-threatening emergencies quicker than almost anywhere else in the country, five years after having the UK's worst performance.

In the year to March,Between April 2005 and March 2006 Oxfordshire Ambulance Service got to 84 per cent of category A calls within eight minutes beating the Government target of 75 per cent.

Its performance was the second best in the UK, after Staffordshire's 86 per cent, and almost double its figures from January 2001, when crews only reached 46.7 per cent of seriously ill patients within the time limit.

The rapid response times come even though the trust has seen a 15 per cent increase in patients and no extra funding.

The service dealt with 36,919 calls, compared to 32,009 in the previous year.

Director of operations Damian Jolly said he was extremely proud of the service, adding: "Our success is down to dedicated staff and volunteers, who work daily in difficult circumstances and situations.

"Set this against an open and honest culture which promotes continuous learning, the results have been phenomenal."

Despite their success, paramedics are still failing to reach two other key targets, and Oxfordshire's Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee is campaigning for the service to be given more funding to combat the problem. While 95 per cent of life-threatening calls in rural areas should be responded to in 19 minutes, recent figures show OAS only reaches 91 per cent, and 95 per cent of non life-threatening patients should be seen in 19 minutes, but OAS only gets to 87 per cent.

HOSC chairman Dr Peter Skolar said: "There's no way the ambulance service can reach these targets and we're happy to support them in the fight for more funding."