A 57-year-old woman had to wait two hours in the cold for an ambulance after she fell while out walking her dog.

Patrica Baldwin was left lying in the mud after falling in Ghost Hill Wood, Taverham, at about midday on Sunday, February 10.

When she called her daughter, Michele Baldwin, on her mobile phone, her screams alerted other dog walkers in the area, who came to her aid.

Michele, 28, from Thorpe Marriott, said: 'When my partner and I arrived my mother was on the floor in the mud and grabbing her ankle.

'Luckily for her a gentleman and another lady walking her dog heard her scream and called an ambulance.

'But we had to wait two hours for an ambulance to arrive. My mother was lying on the wet floor in the cold and wet for two hours.

'It was not only distressing for my mother and absolutely disgusting she was left there, but the ambulance driver said if she had been older she probably would have died just from being left there.'

Mrs Baldwin, who lives in Taverham, was taken to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital where she had surgery on a broken ankle, and where she is expected to remain for several days.

A spokesman for the East of England Ambulance Service said: 'Despite this being an extremely busy time for the service with a significant number of life-threatening calls taking priority this response against a 30-minute target was clearly not acceptable.

'We apologise sincerely to the patient and her family and would encourage them to contact us to help us investigate this incident fully.'

It comes in the same week that ambulance bosses were urged to 'get a grip' of delays affecting emergency responses to patients from across the region. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) will publish a report on the service next month.

Have you waited several hours for an ambulance in Norwich? Call reporter David Bale on 01603 772427 or email david.bale2@archant.co.uk