Response times to major incidents could be put at risk as a report revealed today that more than half of London's emergency service workers live outside the capital.

Just over half of police, fire and paramedic staff now commute to London, adding to the stress of shift work, the London Chamber of Commerce (LCC) said.

Travel and housing costs in London have soared by around a third in recent years.

Meanwhile, pay in the NHS has increased by up to 4% in recent years, the report stated, sparking concerns have been raised that workers are being priced out of London.

LCC chief executive Colin Stanbridge said: "The findings, and in particular some of the comments from members of the emergency services, do give one cause for concern.

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"The report has found that a majority of London's main 'blue light' emergency services workers live outside London.

"As London moves towards becoming a 'megacity', the preparedness of 'blue light' emergency services is a matter that the new Mayor - and the new Assembly - will want to comprehensively examine."

Labour's London Assembly fire spokeswoman Fiona Twycross said: "It's abundantly clear that London's dysfunctional housing market has priced out many who serve in our frontline services.

"More than ever we need our city to be resilient.

"With so many firefighters, paramedics and police officers now living outside London we need to take steps to ensure this doesn't hamper our ability to respond rapidly to large-scale incidents."

In April, a survey from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) revealed that four in 10 London nurses expect to leave the capital by 2021 because they can’t afford the housing costs.