AN ambulance took 20 minutes to arrive at the scene of a fatal accident in Monmouth, members of the Town Council have been told.

Mayoress Cllr Mrs Susan White said she had been told that the local ambulance was already committed at the time of the incident in St Thomas's Square last week and so a rapid response team was called. It took the paramedic 21 minutes to arrive.

"An ambulance from Abergavenny was also called, but broke down on the way to Monmouth so by the time that arrived it was 25 minutes after the accident and then the Monmouth ambulance got back after 29 minutes," she said.

The matter was raised by Cllr Johnanthan Russell who arrived at the scene shortly after the accident.

"It was extremely distressing for any member of the public that witnessed it that it took a long time for an ambulance to arrive," he said.

"From the time I arrived to the time the paramedic car arrived 15 minutes went by. It was possibly as long as 25 minutes before professional health carers were available at the scene.

"We need it clarified how long we are expected to wait before we get medical assistance."

Cllr Marcus Roach said he had spoken to the ambulance officer and was told that delays were caused by the time ambulances had to wait at hospitals to offload patients. It could take half to three-quarters of an hour for hospitals to decide where to place patients which held up the ambulances.

The Council decided to ask the ambulance officer to speak to them about the incident.

Monmouth AM David Davies has also written to the head of the Welsh Ambulance Service raising his concerns about the response time by the service following the accident.

He met the Chairman of the Service, Eifion Pritchard, last year to discuss concerns about response times throughout Monmouthshire.

Mr Davies said: "This latest tragic accident has highlighted the problems with ambulance response times in Monmouthshire.

"I have written to the head of the Welsh Ambulance Service asking him to look into this case and response times in general. The people of Monmouthshire expect and should receive, reliable, round the clock ambulance cover."

This latest concern follows an incident last year when 10-month-old Darius Brown was driven to hospital after being bitten by a dog because an ambulance failed to arrive quickly enough.

A spokesman for the Ambulance Trust said he realised it must have been frustrating for members of the public at the scene to witness the delay.

"The Monmouth crew was already committed with a patient," he said. On receipt of the call control mobilised a rapid response vehicle which at that time was at Caldicot. It responded at 13.31, the same minute as it got the call. He did tremendously well to get their within 20 minutes of the call.

"An ambulance from Abergavenny was on its way when the crew realised they were having a problem with the vehicle. Control immediately mobilised another ambulance to the call. The rapid response vehicle did very well to get their very quickly and started to give advanced life support.

"The second ambulance arrived four minutes later and finally the Monmouth crew got their four minutes after that. That meant there were three vehicles there. The Abergavenny vehicle which was breaking down did get to the scene later. The crew were concerned that their vehicle was cutting out.

"If there is a problem with a vehicle we will always send another to the scene."