A badly injured dog walker's trip to hospital was delayed after an ambulance got stuck during a callout in Fife.
Locals in Dunfermline claim they weren’t allowed to help recover the emergency vehicle because of strict health and safety rules.
Residents near the town’s Woodmill Crescent said their initial offers to pull the ambulance free were turned down because of red-tape.
A second ambulance was later called and the patient was transferred to a local hospital for further treatment.
Locals took to the Fife Jammer Locations Facebook page, here, to vent their anger.
The drama started in a park on Wednesday afternoon when a dog walker slipped on ice and needed emergency treatment.
The ambulance crew arrived and treated the fall victim but they couldn’t leave for hospital after getting stuck on the icy and muddy ground.
When kindhearted locals rallied around their were initially told they weren’t allowed to help.
Posting on Facebook at the time of the incident, one said: “Patient still on board can't touch it they have own rescue on way.”
While another added: “Bl**dy red tape. They have to sit there for their own recovery when kind spirited local people could have moved it in minutes.”
Another Facbook user said the drama ended when the ambulance crew’s bosses finally gave the green light for him to help recover the vehicle with a Land Rover and another 4x4
He wrote: “We had to wait to get authorisation from the Scottish Ambulance service for me to do with the Land Rover.
“It was all down to health and safety. But we got there. It pays to have a good winch.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish Ambulance Service said: “We received a call to assist a patient in Dunfermline at 1307 hours and dispatched an ambulance to the scene.
"After getting stuck in the field, the crew called for a second ambulance and that patient was safely conveyed to hospital. While we greatly appreciate the offers to help from the public, the crew had to consider their safety given the icy conditions and social distancing measures currently in place.”
