An elderly man was left lying injured in the road in the rain for an hour and ten minutes after falling and breaking his leg.

The 78-year-old from Holmfirth, who does not want to be named, slipped and fell at the Meltham Scarecrow Festival on Bank Holiday Monday.

The pensioner collapsed in agony at the junction of Wessenden Head Road and Holmfirth Road, forcing members of the public and police to divert traffic around him.

People who came to assist – including members of the Hands Off HRI campaign – have hit out at the lengthy wait for an ambulance to transport him to hospital.

A source at Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) has told the Examiner that there was a staff shortage on Monday and issues with computer system changes at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary (HRI) had slowed down ambulance turn-arounds at A&E.

Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust is known to have been installing its new electronic patient record system over the Bank Holiday period.

The source said despite the man’s serious accident, it would have still been a low priority call within the YAS system.

The most serious ‘Red’ category calls, such as heart failure, have an eight minute response target, with lower category ‘Amber’ and ‘Green’ calls being 19 and 60 minutes respectively.

“A simple fall with a single limb fracture would be a low priority,” admitted the YAS paramedic source.

“Age has no bearing on the urgency and the fact it was outside and he was lying in the rain, also has no bearing on it.

“But the one hour, ten minute wait was simply because there was no-one available.”

The source, who was working in West Yorkshire on Monday, said their station’s rota was about 20% down on staff that day, from the level agreed with Yorkshire Ambulance Service bosses.

Helen Robinson, who was organising a Hands Off HRI campaign stall close to where the man fell, said it had taken 55 minutes for paramedics in a ‘Rapid Response Vehicle’ car to arrive with pain relief.

She claimed police had come after 45 minutes, with officers reportedly saying they had been diverted there as there were no ambulances available.

The officers admitted they could offer no medical help but took over traffic duties from members of the public.

An off-duty GP was able to assist, but the OAP could not be moved until an ambulance arrived to take him to HRI.

It is thought he required surgery after suffering a fracture to his upper thigh bone – the femur.

A Yorkshire Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "The emergency call was received during a particularly busy period on Bank Holiday Monday and we were doing our best to respond as quickly as possible to all patients who needed our assistance.

"The police were informed of this incident as per normal protocols due to the patient being in the road and traffic congestion.

"Two off-duty paramedics and a doctor were able to care for the patient until the arrival of ambulance resources on scene."