An ambulance delay left a 57-year-old woman lying on the roadside for one and a half hours after suffering a head injury in a road traffic accident.

Sue Evans was on a tandem bike with her partner, Nefyn Provis-Evans, 59, when they were in collision with a car last Sunday on Redbourn Road, St Albans.

Sue sustained bruising as well as a swelling on her head, leaving her unable to get up from the side of the road until the ambulance got there.

Nefyn said: “It is inconceivable that someone could lie beside a major road for that long just a couple of miles from St Albans without medical assistance.

“She could have become ill very quickly, and she eventually required X rays to her head to establish the damage.”

Nefyn praised the ambulance crew who eventually got there but was disappointed about how long it took for them to arrive on the scene.

He said: “This is not a complaint about the crew, who were very good, but a complaint about someone not being picked up with a head injury that could have deteriorated.”

In response to the delay, Dr Anthony Marsh, chief executive of the East of England Ambulance Service Trust, said: “We would like to apologise to the patient for the unacceptable amount of time she waited for an ambulance. We are taking this issue very seriously and the incident is being investigated internally.

“We are working hard to recruit 400 student paramedics and put more ambulances on the road, so that we can provide a better service to our patients and to help reduce delays.”

Sue is recovering well from the accident which left her with some bruising on her upper body and head.