A DISABLED pensioner was left face down on his driveway outside for more than two hours after an ambulance failed to arrive.

According to his son, Lee Barrow, who contacted the Daily Echo in frustration at his father's plight, Roy Barrow, 66, was left outside on the ground at White Horse Drive in Poole after falling as he left home for a hospital appointment with his wife, June.

"Mum was transferring him out of the house to get to his wheelchair outside so they could go to the hospital and he missed the chair as he went to turn into it and hit the floor face down," said Lee.

"We called the ambulance but none came. Mum chased it a couple of times and all they said was 'We're sorry for the delay'."

Lee claims his father is 'unable to do anything for himself' after going into hospital with pneumonia 12 years ago which turned out to be Legionnaires disease. Then, he says, his father suffered septacemia and, while in an induced coma, had a massive stroke, leaving him unable to use his left-hand side.

Speaking on the phone to the Echo as his father lay on the family's driveway Lee said: "We can't move him; we've been told not to move him. He's lying on his face in the front garden.

"Whoever it is we called initially, mum told them he was outside face down and is disabled and it was like they were reading from a script; they just told her to make sure any pets are put away and turn the light on. He's got a blanket over him but he's cold."

South Western Ambulance Service said an ambulance had been dispatched to Mr Barrow but had to be diverted due to a higher priority call.

"Managing the demand on the ambulance service across the South West can be very challenging and we must prioritise our responses and our ambulance resources according to clinical need, so that our most poorly patients receive the most urgent response," said a spokesman.

"We understand that this can cause distress to both the patient and their families but unfortunately, delays in getting an ambulance out to this gentleman was due to high levels of demand in the area and we'd like to apologise that we were unable to reach this gentleman more quickly."