A football manager from Dover says emergency crews took up to an hour to reach him after his leg "completely snapped" during a match.

The ambulance service has apologised for the delayed response after Athletico Cups boss Jason Down suffered the nasty injury on Sunday.

The 27-year-old was playing in the Dover Sunday League against Elms Vale when a tackle saw his shin bone split completely in two places.

The match at Danes Recreation Ground was abandoned after 55 minutes when all the players stopped to help their manager.

Mr Down, who is due to marry his partner Laura Fox, 27, in August, may have to cancel his stag do in Benidorm if the double break does not heal in the next couple of months.

The office clerical worker raised concerns over the length of time it took the ambulance to arrive, which he claims was between 45 minutes to one hour.

The target for South East Coast Ambulance is to reach patients in under 30 minutes for non-life threatening injuries.

He said: "I didn't realise it was broken at first. I tried to stand up but the bottom of my leg was swimming and detached from the rest of my leg.

"I tried to stand up but the bottom of my leg was swimming and detached from the rest of my leg" - Jason Down

"I've got my stag do in two months in Benidorm so I hope I'm OK for that."

He has been told that he won't be able to put pressure on his leg for six to eight weeks which could mean party plans are scuppered - but he is positive his leg will heal in time for the wedding.

Mr Down, of Avenue Road, Dover, has managed the club for three years. He said: "I don't normally play but we were short on Sunday so I had to play. I wish I hadn't now.

"I just want to thank everyone who stayed and supported me and a special thank you to my wife-to-be Laura for being there through it all."

The dad-of-three called her an "absolute hero", as she juggles visiting him at William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, and looking after their three children Alfie, 8, Archie, 6, and Bella, 3.

Mr Down didn't want the player who tackled him to be named as he is a close family friend who he used to babysit when he was younger. He added: "It wasn't a malicious attack. It was just a 50/50 challenge and I came off the worse party.

"He didn't mean to do it. He said sorry but I think I had blacked out."

Mr Down is now on the mend after receiving staples in his leg bone in a four-hour operation.

SECAmb has since apologised for the delayed ambulance response time.

Spokesman Rich Airey said the first vehicle on the scene was a paramedic car in just under 35 minutes, followed five minutes later by the ambulance crew.

He said: "We are extremely busy at the moment and non-life threatening calls are taking longer than we would like to achieve.

"We apologise that it has taken longer than we would like but we have to prioritise those life-threatening injuries.

"We appreciate he must have been in a lot of pain and thank the first aiders at the scene prior to our arrival there.

"This one was absolutely a call that needed 999 but there are some calls that could be better dealt with elsewhere, by calling 111 or a GP.

"It's these calls that are the ones that put the pressure on the system which means we can't get out to those that we need to as quickly we would like."