An ambulance service has said it will work to keep strike disruption "to a minimum" after thousands of workers announced a walk-out just days before Christmas.

GMB members for the South East Coast Ambulance Service (Secamb) will walk out from 6am until 6pm on December 21, as well as on December 28.

Workers across the ambulance services and some NHS trusts have voted to take industrial action over the government’s planned four per cent pay rise, which union leaders have branded a real-terms pay cut due to inflation.

GMB representatives will now meet with SECAmb to discuss requirements for life and limb cover.

A spokesman for Secamb said: "We will work closely with our unions and all staff to ensure that the impact on our patients is kept to a minimum."

Rachel Harrison, GMB national secretary, said: “Ambulance workers, like other NHS workers, are on their knees.

“Demoralised and downtrodden, they’ve faced 12 years of Conservative cuts to the service and their pay packets, fought on the frontline of a global pandemic and now face the worst cost of living crisis in a generation.

“No one in the NHS takes strike action lightly - today shows just how desperate they are.

“This is as much about unsafe staffing levels and patient safety as it is about pay.

“A third of GMB ambulance workers think delays they’ve been involved with have led to the death of a patient.

“Something has to change or the service as we know it will collapse.

“The government could stop this strike in a heartbeat - but they need to wake up and start negotiating on pay.”

Saffron Cordery, interim chief executive of NHS Providers, urged the government and union leaders to find a solution to avert strike action.

She said: "The potential to escalate action and for prolonged, joint strikes by health unions in January if talks don't take place is very worrying.

"Trusts affected will do everything they can to minimise disruption for patients on December 21 and 28.

"Their priority, as always, remains the safe delivery of care and services for patients during any industrial action and to support the well-being of staff, but the challenges strike action presents for the health service at a time when it is under serious strain is undeniable.

"There must be no delay in getting down to serious, meaningful negotiations to end this dispute before it escalates still further."