by Suzy Shanley

A man had to wait in agony, fearing he was having a heart attack, as his ambulance was held up at a traffic calming barrier.

Access to Dartford’s The Bridge estate along Marsh Street is restricted for large vehicles, to prevent it becoming a rat run.

But for Bradley Ambridge it meant prolonging his breathing difficulties by vital minutes as the ambulance was redirected along a back route.

The 25-year-old said: “I was sitting watching telly and all of a sudden I couldn’t breathe. It was very scary, I was in agony.”

His partner, Louisa O’Doherty, called NHS Direct, who then phoned for an ambulance to attend their Hyde Grove flat.

However, when the South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) responded they were held up at the security barrier - usually manned by staff at the nearby 24-hour Bridge Estate Management Centre.

A SECAmb spokesman said it was aware of access issues at the site, and was working with the development's management team to overcome them.

Mr Ambridge spent three days at Darent Valley Hospital after being diagnosed with Pericarditis, an inflammation of the heart.

A spokeswoman for the Bridge Estate Management Company said: "We are working with the emergency services to put in place a system that will alert the management centre whenever the emergency services receive a call from a resident at The Bridge.

"This system will alert management centre staff in advance of the emergency vehicle arriving on site.

"Staff will then remove the width restriction barrier and allow the emergency vehicles immediate access.

"The Bridge Estate Management Company are asking residents to let the management centre know when they call out the emergency services so that the barrier can be removed to allow immediate access."