A FOOTBALLER lay on a pitch with a broken ankle for more than 45 minutes before an ambulance arrived to help him.
Roy Stevens, 39, was playing in midfield in a Cup Final for Swinefleet against Goole United at the Victoria Pleasure Ground Stadium.
"It is pretty scandalous, having to wait 50 minutes," said Rickey Cooper, manager of Swinefleet.
"I know a football injury may not be a priority but the time we had to wait is very poor.
"It was a freak accident in which Roy challenged for the ball and fell awkwardly. There wasn't another player involved."
"If it was a life-threatening injury, would the response have been any quicker?"
The Yorkshire Ambulance Service is coming under intense pressure to address concerns in Goole.
Earlier this month, three-year-old Keiran Morrill-Tiler was left unconscious and needed more than 50 stitches to three head injuries after he was struck by a car as he crossed the road.
His family had to wait 25 minutes before a paramedic arrived and moved him off Malvern Road.
Mr Cooper said: "Someone phoned the 999 number three times and were originally told it would be here in ten minutes.
"He is a tough guy, but was in agony on the pitch and he was panicking to start with because of the pain.
"We all felt helpless."
The Goole and Thorne District Cup Final was delayed while the teams waited for an ambulance and the player was taken to Scunthorpe General Hospital.
Mr Cooper, whose team won the match on penalties, said he was going to take the cup to Mr Stevens in hospital.
"He doesn't have much luck in cup finals," said Mr Cooper.
"Last season, we reached two finals and Roy missed both of those – one because he was working and the other because of a bad back.
"He was injured after 14 minutes at Saturday's game.
"He's not doing bad in hospital. He had an operation on Sunday evening and his ankle is in pot and it is all plated up."
There are three ambulances based in the town and one rapid response vehicle, as well as a group of volunteers who act as first responders.
Brigg and Goole MP Andrew Percy said the Yorkshire Ambulance Trust service is being "sucked" from the area.
He said when they are taking casualties to A&Es in Hull and Doncaster the crews are then being sent to emergency jobs in those areas and struggling to get back to the Goole area.
Keiran's mother Louisamay Morrill-Tiler, said: "I thought the ambulance service would have made changes straight away after we had to wait so long for help. It is getting stupid now. Keiran is doing brilliant and you wouldn't think he had been run over.
"He moans every now and again about his collar bone hurting, but apart from that he is doing really well.
"He opened his eye again last Wednesday.
"He will be back at Hull Royal Infirmary in three weeks."
In relation to the football injury, David Williams, deputy director of operations at the Yorkshire Ambulance Service, said that based on the information given during the 999 call, the patient was categorised as not having a potentially life-threatening injury.
He said: "An ambulance crewed by a paramedic and an emergency care assistant was deployed to the scene and, on arrival, provided assessment and treatment to the patient before transporting him to Scunthorpe General Hospital for further care," he said.
"We would like to apologise for any distress caused following this 999 call."
