A disabled woman was left traumatised after enduring almost four hours lying in the road as she waited for an ambulance.

Emergency crews were called after Tracey Mulhall toppled off her mobility scooter in Westgate-on-Sea at 7.15pm on Monday.

But paramedics did not arrive until 10.40pm, forcing the 56-year-old to endure a painful wait on the cold ground as temperatures dipped close to freezing.

Ambulance bosses have apologised for failing to get to Mrs Mulhall faster and for the distress caused.

The grandmother-of-four, who suffers from asthma, COPD and fibromyalgia, said: “The scooter literally flipped – it took three grown men to lift it back up.

“I can’t blame the crews who were just as shocked as me, but I can say the system doesn’t work.

“I don’t know who made the decision to leave me on the floor for so long, but I am so angry about it.

“There are so many things just so wrong about the incident, and I want to make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

A friend who called 999 says she was told by the operator not to lift Mrs Mulhall up.

Mrs Mulhall said: “I just can’t believe in this day and age, they would leave a disabled woman in the road – it was completely dark and this should never have happened.

“I don’t have much of a social life as it is without spending my evening on the floor.

“We were actually once patched through to West Midlands ambulance service which probably would have been quicker.”

Mrs Mulhall had been on her way to bingo at Paul’s Bar and Bistro with her friend Helen Preston when her scooter hit a tree root in Elm Grove, throwing her off the vehicle and into the road.

Despite 999 operators being told of her disabilities – making her vulnerable to the cold as well as having joint issues – the matter was only triaged as a category three call, meaning crews aim to respond within two hours.

The incident was later upgraded by the South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) to category two, which has an average target response time of 18 minutes.

Mrs Preston, who stayed with Mrs Mulhall during the ordeal, said: “I don’t know what the temperature was but I know it was damn cold – we had to cover Tracey with coats.

“We had to just leave Tracey there exposed to the elements because the ambulance [operator] was saying ‘oh, no, don't pick her up’.

“All I know is one gent came and was an absolute diamond; he stayed with us for as long as he could to make sure Tracey was OK.

“Even the ambulance crew were surprised at how long Tracey had been laying there. You just wish they had been there sooner.”

When they finally arrived, paramedics took Mrs Mulhall to Margate’s QEQM Hospital, where she spent the night before being discharged at 8am on Tuesday morning.

Mrs Mulhall escaped with cuts and bruises and is now resting at home.

SECAmb has apologised for the delay and invited Mrs Mulhall and her family to raise any concerns with the patient advice and liaison service (PALS).

A spokesperson told KentOnline: “We take all concerns raised seriously and we are very sorry we took longer than we should to respond to this call and for the distress this will have undoubtedly caused Mrs Mulhall and her family.

“At the time the call was received, at approximately 7.15pm, we had been facing a sustained period of significantly high demand on our service. The call was triaged as a Category 3 call to which we aim to respond within two hours.

“We work hard to respond to all calls as quickly as possible, while prioritising life-threatening calls. Our response to the incident was later upgraded and an ambulance arrived at the scene at approximately 10.40pm.

“We would invite Mrs Mulhall or her family to contact us directly if they would like to discuss their concerns in more detail.”