AN INCIDENT where an elderly gentleman was left lying on a Kingsbridge pavement for around two hours, waiting for the emergency services, has generated shock from witnesses.

The man, believed to be called Ernie, tripped at the raised bus platform kerb outside the old town hall at 1.45pm on Thursday, October 1.

Around an hour later, a first responder arrived to treat him, but the casualty had to wait a further hour, until 3.45pm before an ambulance arrived.

Eventually, at around 4.30pm, the ambulance left the town to take him to Derriford hospital.

Celia Peters, who wrote to the Gazette about the incident said: ‘The poor man had been lying on the pavement in considerable discomfort, showing signs of shock and, despite our best efforts, was extremely cold. I am sure that all who witnessed this event will be upset at the almost unbelievable delay.’

But a spokesman for the South Western Ambulance Service disputed the eyewitness accounts of those on Fore Street, releasing this statement: ‘South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust was called to the centre of Kingsbridge on Thursday, October 1, to assist an elderly gentleman who had suffered a fall and had a minor hand injury.

‘As a trust we strive to provide every patient with a timely response, but on this occasion we did not reach the patient as quickly as we would have liked.

For more on this story, see this week’s Kingsbridge & Salcombe Gazette