TRIBUTES were paid today to the chairman of Lancashire Ambulance Service who will step down next month.

Dr Lois Louden has been a non-executive director of Lancashire Ambulance NHS Trust since it was established in 1993.

She wants to pursue other interests when her term of office ends on October 31.

She said "I have been very pleased to have been associated with such a successful organisation and would like to express my thanks and admiration for everyone involved in delivering ambulance services to the people of Lancashire.

"I feel that the time is right for me to step down to allow myself to pursue my many other interests."

Dr Louden has been an integral part of the service, frequently spending time with crews on the road to gain first hand experience of the pressures faced by them.

David Hill, chief executive of Lancashire Ambulance Service, said: "Her knowledge and experience will be a great loss to the trust board and we thank her for all she has done.

"We are pleased that she will be retaining her links with the service through her appointment as a trustee of the Heart of Lancashire Appeal and of the North West Ambulance Service.

A successor has yet to be announced.

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