THE Government has been aware of the issues surrounding the ambulance service in the North-East for five years and problems “should have been addressed by now” a North-East MP has stated.

Darlington MP Jenny Chapman branded delays in sending an ambulance to treat a pensioner who was left lying in a garden for more than three hours while he waited for an ambulance – "appalling" and "unacceptable".

Ken Marwood, of Eaglescliffe, near Stockton fell over while visiting a friend at 10.30am on Tuesday.

The 82-year-old, who is diabetic and suffers from a heart condition and high blood pressure, was left for three-and-half hours, unable to move with a serious head injury, fractured cheek and black eye.

His wife, Barbara, 72, rang for an ambulance four times and was left upset and frustrated by the incident.

“I am angry at the situation," she said. "I was ringing the ambulance while he was lying on the concrete in the garden. There was a big pool of blood on the flagstone.”

The grandfather of three is now recovering at home after hospital treatment.

Mrs Marwood continued: "They patched him up and put a CT scan on his head.

“We got to the hospital about half two and our friends came to pick us up at half seven.

"They said they weren't short staffed, but they were extremely busy. I don't know whose fault it is" she added.

An angry Ms Chapman told the Northern Echo: “This is appalling and no one should ever be left in that situation.

“The ambulance service and the Government have been aware of these problems for the past five years and these issues with recruitment and ambulances being held up at hospital should have been addressed by now.

“It is unacceptable for somebody to be left outside for that length of time and I know that the Northern Echo readers will feel the same.”

She added: “I think this reinforces the point we have been making about the strain on services and at the moment we are campaigning to keep the Darlington A&E open. We know that, should it be closed, we will be relying even more on the ambulance service.”

Speaking on Tuesday, Douglas McDougall, head of emergency care (south) at the North East Ambulance Service said: "We are extremely sorry for any delays patients experience from our service. We know how distressing it can be for patients and their families when we are unable to get them as quickly as we would like."