“David Pinion lies stricken under blankets at the side of the road while his brother Robert sits by his side.”

A MOTORCYCLIST who was injured in a crash had to be taken to hospital by his brother after ambulances sent to collect him were diverted NINE times.

David Pinion

David Pinion, 24, was in agony on the tarmac for 90 minutes while a paramedic tried desperately to get an ambulance to attend the scene – only to be told that there were none available and it would be best if he made his own way to the hospital.

David, from Prickwillow, suffered extensive internal bruising in the accident, in Lisle Lane, Ely, on October 14. His waist has ballooned from 42in to 48in because of the swelling.

Despite his injuries, however, David had to be lifted off of the road by his brother Robert and friend Chris Boon and driven to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.

He also suffered damage to his pelvis and ankle and was given morphine by hospital staff to ease his pain.

David Pinion lying at the side of the road following his accident in Lisle Lane, Ely.

David said: “Fortunately I didn’t suffer any broken bones but I was in so much pain that I really wouldn’t want to know what a broken bone feels like.

“The rapid response paramedic who got to me first was brilliant, she couldn’t have done any more for me, but the people on the radio said they couldn’t get an ambulance to me, they kept diverting them to more incidents because I was deemed not serious enough.

“The paramedic was arguing with them and telling them I could have been bleeding internally but they just said they were sorry and there was nothing they could do.”

David’s mum Vanessa added: “Does someone have to die before we have a decent, reliable ambulance service with a reasonable response time?”

A spokesman for the East of England Ambulance Service said: “This incident has already been raised by the trust for investigation because the wait for transport to hospital was not acceptable.

“The patient was assessed on-scene by a paramedic, who arrived within six minutes, as not being in a life-threatening condition and during this exceptionally busy time all ambulances which became available had to be diverted to life-threatening calls.”