BORED paramedics have pleaded with their bosses for televisions in their rapid response vehicles -- so that they can while away the hours waiting to respond to emergency calls.

But ambulance bosses have refused to let the paramedics sit and watch TV in their cars.

However, they have agreed to fund auto-change CD players in the specialist estate cars at a total cost of £10,000 throughout the region.

Bolton has three rapid response vehicles based in areas which have relatively high numbers of serious incidents needing urgent emergency response, but which are difficult for a standard ambulance to reach within an eight minute target time.

A rapid response paramedic treats the life-threatening condition and then hands over to the ambulance crew when they arrive.

But on quiet days, a lone paramedic can wait for long periods for their next call, Unison union representatives claim.

A request had gone to a charitable trust to upgrade the satellite navigation system in the vehicles to receive terrestrial TV signals, but the idea was vetoed by ambulance chiefs as "inappropriate".

Now Bolton's Unison representative, Craig Wilde, is writing a letter of objection to Greater Manchester Ambulance Service to complain about the refusal.

Mr Wilde claims it is only the same as letting paramedics in stations watch TV programmes they are waiting for 999 calls. He said the charity money is meant to be spent on improving the working lives of ambulance staff and the CD players are not enough.

Mr Wilde said: "It is a simple matter of relief of boredom. Everyone knows that paramedics sit at the stations watching TV and that's not using public money. I don't think this is good enough."

The GMAS committee turned down the request saying that it was "inappropriate" use of charity money but have agreed to release £10,000 on giving RRV staff CD players.