Kent's internal 999 call centre suffered a power failure because of electrical problems.

South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Trust said it experienced significant electrical problems at its Kent emergency dispatch centre in Coxheath yesterday and had to re-route its 999 calls to its other two control centres in Surrey and Sussex.

This meant all 999 calls were dealt with during this time and patients needing an ambulance received one.

Sue Harris, director of operations and performance of SECAmb, told KentOnline: “We would like to assure our patients and the public that we have robust, tried and tested, plans in place to deal with problems such as this if they should arise, and these were successfully put into action to ensure we continued to offer ambulance services to those that called upon us for help."

A full investigation is now being carried out to identify the cause of the electrical surge.