A DAD has expressed anger after his daughter fell, banged her head and broke her arm, but an ambulance wasn’t available to take her to hospital.

Matt Watts, 33, of Vere Street, Barry, said he and his wife Kelly Watts, 36, rung 999 on Sunday September 30 around 2.30pm.

Mr Watts said his daughter, Chelsey, aged eight, sustained the injuries when she was playing at home.

He said: “They (the children) were all playing on the floor when Chelsey tripped. The full weight of her body landed on her wrist.

“Straight away she started screaming and then she passed out.

“My wife spoke to the ambulance service on the phone and I was on the loud speaker.”

He claims staff told him the wait could be up to six hours.

Mr Watts says it was then he decided to take her himself.

“It took 40 minutes to get there,” he said. “She was in agony."

Chelsey returned to hospital the following morning where she underwent an hour-and-a-half operation.

“I think it’s disgusting,” Mr watts said of the fact no ambulance was available.

“It’s a joke."

Welsh Ambulance Service director of operations Richard Lee said: “We were unable to provide an ambulance to immediately attend to Kelsey after her fall, as all of our resources were engaged on emergency calls elsewhere.

“When this happens, we advise callers that there may be a delay and, where it is safe to do so, provide advice on options for making other arrangements to get the patient to hospital, where they can be seen more quickly.

“We hope that Kelsey is recovering well and would like to send our best wishes for the future.”