Workers at a private ambulance firm covering south west Hertfordshire have only had an hour's training to drive vehicles at high speed, it has been reported.

Staff at the Private Ambulance Service (PAS) in Basildon, Essex, which provides emergency cover for the East of England Ambulance Service, also criticised some of the equipment in the ambulances, saying it was in a poor state.

The BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme reported that current staff complained of dirty conditions and broken equipment in non-emergency patient transport vehicles.

Dan Duke worked in patient transport for the PAS in 2013 before he was sacked, the programme reported.

He said PAS gave him a minimal amount of training to drive under emergency conditions.

"I got in the vehicle, got everything ready, started to drive out, put the blue lights on, and then it was just drive all the way down the A127... and then back to the trading estate from where they are based - an hour's training," he said.

Mr Duke now works for a different private ambulance company and has received comprehensive training.

Another worker was a PAS medic before he lost his job in 2016.

He said he was not given an induction or training when he started with the company.

He added: "It was quite clear that I was working with people that, not through their own fault, weren't trained.

"It's putting patients at risk. It's putting lives at risk. It's delaying what can be time-critical first aid."

PAS told the BBC its blue-light driver training has been outsourced since January 2016.

A spokesman said it offered a high level of patient care to all patients transported on its service.

He said: "All of our staff are fully trained above the required standard, and we have full policies and procedures in place to deal with any eventuality within the business.

"We are regulated and inspected by the Care Quality Commission and were last inspected in October 2016.

"Whilst we appreciate there have been some allegations made, we do not accept the nature of the allegations to be accurate."

He added: "It is the responsibility of all staff to ensure their vehicles are kept to the highest standard of cleanliness as per our infection prevention and control policy."

The Care Quality Commission said it had carried out an inspection at the PAS in August, following concerns raised by former PAS staff members, and had found "many of the concerns unsubstantiated".

However, it also said it had found poor standards in infection control, staff not being given enough time off between shifts and poor governance and leadership arrangements.

A further inspection had shown improvements, including an updated cleaning procedure, and an action plan for further improvements.

Dave Bradley, from the East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust, told the BBC it would be impossible to train someone properly to drive under blue lights in one hour.

"Everything on the road or on the side of the road is a potential hazard to us," he said.

"Our driver's course is four weeks long, the first two weeks is the foundation, then the blue light driver training takes another two weeks."

In February last year, Gary Page, 54, died at home in Laindon, Essex, hours after being seen by PAS crew who said he had indigestion when he was actually suffering a heart attack.

A coroner at his inquest in September said he had been the victim of serious failings.