Great-grandma, 87, left in pouring rain for almost nine hours waiting for ambulance after fall

ITV News Central Journalist Sarah Kilburn-Wilson reports on a great-grandma in distress as she was found by neighbours lying in the rain waiting for an ambulance

A great-grandma, who's 87-years-old, was forced to wait almost nine hours for an ambulance, lying on her drive in the pouring rain, after falling over.

Rita Tonks, from Telford, can be heard moaning in distress in footage filmed of the incident as neighbours rallied round with umbrellas and blankets to try to protect her.

Her son, Steve, told ITV News Central it was extremely distressing to see his mum in that condition.

He said: "We did whatever we could to keep her warm and dry but obviously it was a highly stressful environment seeing my mother in pain."

Rita Tonks, who's 87-years-old, was left lying on the ground with umbrellas covering her for almost nine hours

Neighbours worked to keep Rita warm by bringing out patio heaters, duvets and umbrellas while her son dialled 999 at 1.15pm.

Paramedics finally arrived at the property at 10pm and Rita was taken to Telford's Princess Royal Hospital where she underwent a partial hip replacement.

Footage shows Rita lying on the cold and wet driveway in the rain as she waited for an ambulance to arrive.

Her son, Steve, has hit out at the delay after his frail mum was left stranded.

'We did whatever we could to keep her warm...it was highly stressful', Rita's son Steve tells ITV Central

Mr Tonks said: "We did whatever we could to keep her warm and dry but obviously it was a highly stressful environment seeing my mother in pain."

"We didn't know at that time that she had fractured her hip."

"I think overall it was just very stressful and very disappointing that we had to wait nearly nine hours," he added.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Telford's Princess Royal Hospital said: "Our staff and volunteers are working tirelessly but we would like to apologise for taking just under nine hours to respond to an elderly patient who had fallen. 

"Paramedics in our control room spoke to the caller with the patient on several occasions to check whether her condition had changed."

The hospital trust said it has been under what it called "extreme pressure", and said plans such as a £9.3 million expansion plan of the Emergency Department would help ease the problems there.