Paramedics have been called to Ilford police station almost 1,000 times in the last five years, new figures from City Hall have revealed.

Data released by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, have shown a huge surge in ambulances being called to police stations across London.

And shockingly, since 2012, 929 of those calls have been made from Ilford police station, High Road, Ilford – the second highest number of call-outs in that period across the entire capital.

Havering and Redbridge London Assembly member Keith Prince was “highly concerned” by the figures.

He told the Recorder: “I know that Ilford town centre is a crime hotspot, certainly within Redbridge, but those kind of numbers are very worrying.

“When ambulances are being called almost three times more often to Ilford police station than Romford police station then you know something is wrong.” And the Conservative AM also pledged to bring the issue up with the deputy Mayor of London for policing and crime Sophie Linden, as well as Redbridge borough commander Ch Supt Mandy Beacher.

“These numbers also show a worrying trend, with ambulance call-outs steadily rising since 2012,” Mr Prince added.

Liberal Democrat London Assembly member Caroline Pidgeon, who helped unearth the figures, argued that the Met “is failing to provide adequate healthcare”.

She said: “It is an alarming situation when ambulances are routinely being called to police stations, putting additional pressures on our stretched ambulance services.

“The Met needs to get its own house in order and provide comprehensive medical care in its custody suites. It is wrong that another blue light service is having to pick up the pieces.”

A Met spokeswoman said they were committed to continually improving their performance in custody.

She said: “The health and wellbeing of people in custody is a key priority and we will continue to provide a safe and appropriate environment for those who come into our detention.

“On occasion it is necessary to call for an ambulance, which are specially equipped and able to take patients who are in need of urgent medical attention to hospital. We will do this as and when it is necessary in order to ensure that people in custody receive the appropriate level of care.”