Watching a player wait three hours in pain for an ambulance to arrive was “distressing”, the Vice Chairman of Blessington AFC has said. 

Last week, the club was playing a game that was heading towards the 80th minute when a player suffered a “very serious” injury. 

On Lunchtime Live, club Vice Chairman Alan Moore said it was quickly clear the injury was serious. 

“It was quite apparent immediately that he was in a lot of pain and he just couldn't move him,” he said. 

“So, the referee brought the game to a stop and he actually suffered a compound fracture to his ankle.”

Mr Moore continued that the player, Drake, was in “that much pain” that they decided to call an ambulance. 

“I think the ambulance was called at 8.20 in the evening,the details were given and, unfortunately, it didn't arrive until after 11.30,” he said. 

“We weren't given any time for when an ambulance will get here. 

“But we did have the local first aid responders; they came up, they were up within 30 or 45 minutes - Brian and Dave were absolutely brilliant.” 

While he conceded that ambulance availability is a “complex” issue, Mr Moore also noted three hours is a long time for someone who is in pain. 

“It was a compound fracture and Drake was in quite a lot of pain, it was getting distressing,” he said. 

“Thankfully, the weather last week, we were in the midst of another heat wave. So the evening was actually quite pleasant.

“But even this week, the evenings are getting darker and colder.”

Main image: An ambulance. Picture by: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie.