A 91-year-old woman has thanked people who helped her after she fractured her shoulder and waited three hours for an ambulance that never arrived.

Bobbie Kessler, who lives in King’s Stanley, was at Dobbies Garden Centre, near Stonehouse, when she suffered multiple injuries.

The accident happened on Thursday, November 29, a day that saw torrential rain and storms.

“It was a nasty fall, but kind members of staff rushed out to wrap me in blankets and eventually bubble wrap. I was soaked in the rain,” said Mrs Kessler. “It was a terribly windy day and I was on my way out of the garden centre. Then a huge gust of wind blew me and the trolley away.”

She said staff members rang the ambulance service three times, but after three hours they did not arrive.

Mrs Kessler then told them to ring her son, who then took his mother to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.

She was diagnosed with a fractured right shoulder and what she described as a “collapsed back bone”.

She has not been able to leave the house since the incident.

Staff at Dobbies Garden Centre have since expressed their admiration for Mrs Kessler, but said the incident was “awful”.

South Western Ambulance Service (SWAFT) has stressed that it does the best it can with finite resources, and that it prioritises time-critical and life-threatening incidents.

It said it was “very challenging” to manage the demand for the ambulance service. A spokesman said: “The incident was assessed by staff, and there was thought to be no immediate threat to her life as she was supported by people at the scene.”

However, after the second call, the severity of the incident was upgraded, and the next available ambulance was dispatched.

“While the ambulance was en route, and less than one hour after the first call, we were informed that the lady was being taken to an emergency department,” said the spokesman.

Despite her fall, Mrs Kessler says that “the ambulance service does not deserve any blame”.

“I just want to give my heartfelt thank you to the staff at Dobbies.”