A BABY was left convulsing for about 15 minutes when an ambulance got lost - trying to find a road that does not officially exist.

When 15-month-old Sophia Grace Duggan fell ill in the early hours her uncle Darren Magin, of Hawkridge Grove, Kings Hill, called Kent Ambulance.

The crew called Mr Magin, 29, to ask where his home was becauses their satellite navigation system had sent them to a nearby road instead.

But the Kent Messenger has discovered that Hawkridge Grove, which was built three years ago, does not appear on up to date maps, including those used by ambulance services,which are based on Ordnance Survey maps.

Nor does it appear on several everyday maps used by the public, including those at multimap.com and streetmap.co.uk. The road is shown on some local maps, including a Kings Hill website.

Ordnance Survey says the road is listed in its addressing data, but is not classed as a "road" under current data available to ambulances because it is a courtyard cul-de-sac. This may be why it does not yet show up on maps.

The road will be included in Ordnance Survey "road" data from next April.

Mr Magin said Kings Hill was rapidly growing .

"God help anyone who really needs help in the future," he said. "We had a few problems when the houses were new, but to be three years plus down the line.

"The ambulance was new in itself, we had no problem with the staff and vehicle - it was just the most important bit. It beggars belief. This is an absolutely appalling situation."

A spokeswoman for Kent Ambulance NHS Trust said: "There was a problem in locating the address which us not yet on the Ordnance Survey map and so not available on our satellite navigation system, which is updated yearly."

Sophia is now fine. Her conviulsoions are believed to have been caused by a throat infection.