The union understands 21 of these ambulances are currently on the frontline, but will be pulled.

GMB is working with the trust to implement changes to the vehicles that will enable them to stay in service, with some adjustments made to their capacity.

This is not the first time EEAST has made a mistake with ambulance purchases. In May 2025, 75 ambulances were ordered with the wrong wheels in an error worth around £133,500.

Donna Thomas, GMB regional organiser, said: ‘This is yet another expensive and dangerous mistake from EEAST, which put ambulance staff safety at risk.

‘We are calling for the trust to take accountability for the repeated mistakes made when purchasing vehicles.

‘It is important to remember this is public money and could be spent on more public-facing staff to cut the unacceptable response times in the East of England.

‘GMB is pleased that the trust is working with us to rectify the error and keep these ambulances in service, where possible.'

In response, an East of England Ambulance Service spokesperson, said: ‘We have identified that a small proportion of our fleet do not have passenger airbags installed. Whilst these vehicles are roadworthy and legal, we are attempting to limit the use of these affected vehicles until a permanent solution can be found.

‘Our fleet team are working hard to resolve this issue and to ensure that we have enough fleet availability to support our patients.

‘Safety measures for staff that need to travel as passengers in the vehicles are in place.'