Ellen Scarsbrook said she feels let down by the service

Ellen Scarsbrook, 78, broke her arm when she slipped on ice in Chipping Norton and passers-by took her to a nearby surgery to wait for an ambulance.

Two hours later when the ambulance had still not arrived the surgery's receptionist took her to Banbury Hospital's accident and emergency in her own car.

Ambulance managers admit they are failing to cope with a recent rise in 999 calls.

'Limited resources'

Mrs Scarsbrook said after Wednesday's accident: "I never call for ambulances, I don't worry them.

"When you want them at a time like this they're not there."

Damian Jolly, Director of Operations at Oxfordshire Ambulance Service admitted that over the last two months they had not been meeting the government target of attending all 999 calls within eight minutes.

"I make no bones about it, I'm quite open and honest - we are stretched," he said.