AMBULANCE staff were on standby as two BBC Radio Essex presenters...changed a car wheel.

The presenters, believed to be breakfast show host Ray Clarke and a female co-host, tackled the tyre change in the radio station’s car park in Chelmsford for a programme about learning new skills.

But the health and safety conscious producers had two first-aiders from St John Ambulance on standby in case of any accidents.

Caroline Lake, who runs Caroline’s Cars in Ashwellthorpe, Norfolk, who was drafted in to teach the presenters how to change the wheel, branded it “ridiculous”.

She said: “I went outside to check that everything was OK with the car and when the producer came out she said ‘ready to go, but we’re just waiting for the paramedics’.

“I didn’t know what she was talking about, but then a couple of paramedics came and parked a couple of metres away from the car.

“I thought ‘you’ve got to joking, this is ridiculous’.

“When I asked the producer why they were there she said ‘I know it looks silly but it is BBC health and safety rules’.”

A BBC spokeswoman said: “The presenters featured in the outside broadcast, which was part of the BBC Big Skill Initiative, were working against the clock using unfamiliar equipment.”