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An “urgent” £9 million order for 112 new ambulances has been placed by health chiefs amid fears none will be available after Brexit, the Evening Standard can reveal.

The emergency vehicles, built by Mercedes in Germany and finished off in Ireland, are desperately needed by London Ambulance Service to help hit 999 response times over winter. Concern at the highest levels of LAS over a no-deal Brexit has seen the order rushed through to ensure they arrive before Britain leaves the EU on March 29 next year.

Thirty of the vehicles, which take months to build, will enter service by March, with 82 being “stockpiled” in case Brexit results in supplies drying up. LAS chiefs also fear vehicle prices will soar if there is a collapse in the pound.

The ambulances are completed in Ireland, where the rear “box” compartment in which patients are treated is fitted to the Mercedes chassis.

Concerns about goods getting stuck on the wrong side of the Channel or Irish Sea, and the need for a “frictionless border” between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, have dominated Brexit talks and remain unresolved.

A report to the LAS board states: “By enabling the trust to take possession of a greater number of (EU manufactured) chassis prior to March 2019, this approach also provides additional security of supply in the event of a no-deal Brexit.”

More than half of LAS’s ambulances, are six or more years old and some entered service 13 years ago.

National changes to 999 response protocols mean LAS must dispatch a conventional “double-crewed ambulance” to more calls within seven minutes. Previously, a solo paramedic in a fast car or on a motorbike would be sent to “stop the clock” and await support.

LAS also needs to comply with Mayor Sadiq Khan’s new rules on toxic air, which come into force on April 8.

LAS chief executive Garrett Emmerson said the organisation was being “prudent”. He said the new vehicles, part-funded with £3.8 million from the Department of Health, would be a “huge step forward” for frontline crews.