Unite union leader Sharon Graham joins ambulance workers' picket line in Chorley as she calls for Rishi Sunak to "sort it out"

Braving the 7am cold, armed with various signs including "Raise NHS Pay Now", and chanting "We want fair pay", paramedics, emergency care assistants, ambulance technicians, other 999 crew members and control room staff across five services in England – London, Yorkshire, the North West, North East and South West – joined picket lines with more than 2,500 workers joining the fight throughout the country for better pay and working conditions.

Unite union leader Sharon Graham told the Post that she stood in support of members of the ambulance service. She said: "I am also here to say that the NHS is on its knees. The government is not coming to the table and dealing with pay and if it doesn't deal with pay that is crippling the NHS currently. Rishi Sunak need to come back to the negotiating table. It's been five weeks since Unite ambulance workers were last on strike and they haven't done one thing to solve this dispute. Rishi Sunak is missing in action. He is the leader of this country and needs to sort this dispute."

The strike comes after Chancellor Jeremy Hunt was told he can halt industrial action and begin solving the staffing emergency if he comes up with new money to pay health workers, including paramedics and NHS staff, “fairly”. But Unison warned Mr Hunt that if he continues to resist appeals to release extra cash and kickstart talks with unions to end the strikes, the NHS dispute could run for many months.

While strike action is ongoing, the North West Ambulance Service is operating 'life and limb cover', meaning that all category 1 calls – the most life-threatening such as cardiac arrest – will be responded to.NHS England has told patients to continue to call 999 for life-threatening emergencies but to use 111, GPs and pharmacies for non-urgent needs.