A union boss has today demanded South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) is subject to a government inquiry following more damning allegations about the service.

GMB's Southern Regional Secretary, Paul Maloney, tonight told the BBC the trust had lost the confidence of the public and its staff and an investigation by Parliament's health service select committee was needed.

Mr Maloney told BBC News: "These people are providing a service to the public and they are in well-paid positions.

"There are a few people within the trust that's key to what happened and I don't think they can be allowed to have responsibility for the running of the trust until there's a proper full inquiry into this."

His scathing comments come after revelations that the service, which covers Kent, Surrey and Sussex, is facing investigation by the Care Quality Commission.

Its dispatch system has been labelled 'unfit for purpose', according to reports by the BBC and that staff have been subject to bullying and harassment.

Out-dated maps and long call waits were two of the accusations levelled at the trust which was recently found to have delayed sending ambulances to call outs to allow extra time for patient assessments.

Chairman Tony Thorne resigned in March and chief executive Paul Sutton left last month following the findings.

Healthwatch Kent said it was concerned that the ambulance trust was again making news headlines for the wrong reasons.

Steve Inett from the patients' watchdog said: "Our role is to ensure patients are listened to and that we are reassured that services are safe.

"With that in mind, we have been in touch with the Trust to seek more information."

It urged anyone with concerns about treatment to get in touch, free and confidentially, on 0808 801 0102.

KentOnline has been unable to contact SECamb for comment at this time.