YORKSHIRE’S ambulances are still not reaching some of the most serious incidents on time.

Crews are supposed to respond to 75% of “Red 1” emergency calls – the most critical calls which cover patients who have stopped breathing and do not have a pulse – within eight minutes.

Figures just released show Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) has missed the government’s target.

But YAS chiefs have disputed their score, pointing at new ways of reporting response targets.

The eight minute Category A target has been split into Red 1 and Red 2 for 2012-13.

Red 2 calls are serious but less time critical and cover conditions such as strokes and fits.

And YAS chiefs say they have achieved higher than the 75% target when the two categories are averaged together.

However, figures released by the Health and Social Care Information Centre show Yorkshire has the second worst responses in England for Red 1 calls at just 71.7%.

Only the East Midlands is worse (70%).

Despite this, David Williams, Deputy Director of Operations at Yorkshire Ambulance NHS Trust, said they were making progress.

He said: “For the second consecutive year Yorkshire Ambulance Service has achieved the national response standards for its emergency service.

“In 2012-13 we responded to over 717,000 incidents and emergency ambulances reached 75.3% of the most seriously ill and injured patients within eight minutes and 97% within 19 minutes, both being above national targets of 75% and 95% respectively.”

It is the seventh year out the past nine that YAS has dipped below a 75% target for eight minute Category A incidents.

The county’s response ambulances met the target in 2004/05 but then failed to make it again until last year.

Yorkshire is not alone as almost half of England’s ambulance trusts failed to meet the Red 1 standard.

In 2010 YAS was declared the worst in the country and was put under special measures by watchdog the Care Quality Commission.

It was released from the measures later that year after turning its performance around. But it still failed to make the 75% target that year.

The national average for responding to Category A Red 1 incidents with the target time of eight minutes was 74%. But just seven of the 12 ambulance trusts in England reached standard.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service runs 60 ambulance stations, including Huddersfield, Honley and Brighouse.