Fallen parkrunner waits nearly three hours for an ambulance in King's Lynn

After tripping over during Saturday morning's King's Lynn parkrun, a woman waited nearly three hours for an ambulance to turn up after she was instructed not to move by the service.

The woman fell while turning round a lamppost on the run at around 9.30am.

An ambulance did not arrive until 12.31pm with the ambulance's call centre reportedly saying there were other incidents to attend to with higher priorities.

The call centre instructed the lady not to move in case she had broken a bone.

A spokeswoman for the East of England Ambulance service later said the patient did not require treatment and would encourage the runner to contact them on 0800 028 3382 if she would like to discuss the matter.

An eyewitness said the woman was provided with blankets, one of which was given to her by the Lynn police station.

Among those offering assistance was a member of the Royal Airforce, who was in the park with his wife at the time.

Organiser of the parkrun, Gary Walker, said: "I am not criticising emergency services as they are under pressure, but I think that unless you know absolutely for certain, then maybe there is a case for moving her and getting her into a vehicle to take her to hospital.

"It's all about prioritisation and what they consider as their top priority call. The ambulance control said not to move her.

"I have not heard what the actual injuries are but nonetheless she was lying for a long time in a public place."

Mr Walker added all the parkrun officials are trained in first-aid and there has been a paramedic on a bicycle at the scene on previous occasions.

He sent out a message of appreciation to "all the great parkrunners who stopped to help the runner who tripped" on the run's Facebook page.

"They saw that she was looked after and stayed with her throughout the wait. Truly the parkrun family in action," he said.