RAIDERS escaped with a payphone from Blackburn Ambulance Station while paramedics were attending a 999 call.

The mercy men returned from the emergency to discover that their base in George Street West had been plundered by thieves.

The payphone was taken during a burglary at at the weekend.

Last year, the Lancashire Evening Telegraph revealed raiders had been making bogus 999 calls to the Blackburn station.

The aim was to lure paramedics away so burglars could break into the empty building.

During a six-month period in 1995 the station was broken into five times.

Among the items stolen were holdalls containing vital medical equipment and yellow uniforms.

Other East Lancashire stations have also been targeted, including Accrington where 20 large concrete panels surrounding the base were knocked down.

Ambulance bosses have accepted that there is no long-term solution to keeping security tight.

Anybody with information about the latest raid should contact Blackburn Police on 01254 51212.

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