AN ELDERLY woman who slipped on ice and broke her hip has thanked those who came to her aid while she waited for an ambulance.

Freda Heather was was taken to the trauma unit at the Great Western Hospital when the ambulance arrived - more than two hours after she fell on Victoria Road during the recent snowy weather.

It was discovered that she would need to have a hip replacement, which saw her undergo surgery and remain in hospital for a week following the incident near the Adver’s Old Town offices.

Shoppers and staff at the nearby Prospect Hospice charity shop brought blankets and water, after the 79-year-old fell on the morning of February 27.

Mrs Heather said she was overwhelmed by the support of those who helped her and waited with her in her hour of need.

She said: “I would like to say thank you to all the kind people who came to my aid as I lay prostrate on the pavement following my fall in Old Town.

“The managers from the Prospect Shop who provided cushions and pillows to prop me up, blankets to keep me warm whilst waiting two hours for the ambulance.

"Staff from the cafe opposite, Phil Claridge and John Weaver, Karen who fetched my husband, the brolly holders who protected me from the snow and the police officers, ambulance and fire brigade.

“There was a great community spirit in Old Town that day and long may it continue.

“Finally, my thanks go to Mr Ashbourne for my new hip and the nurses who looked after me in the trauma unit.”

A spokesman for South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust apologised that the ambulance service was unable to reach the woman “more quickly”.

“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 – such as those in cardiac arrest or having a stroke,” he said.

“Sometimes this means that less poorly patients do not get the response that we would wish."