MSPs have been urged to review ambulance services in rural areas after it took 45 minutes to respond to an emergency call to help an 89-year-old.
Holyrood's Public Petitions Committee was told that neighbours called for help after the pensioner fell in the bathroom of her home at Stewartry in Dumfries and Galloway.
Because she was trapped behind a door it was impossible to gauge the extent of any injuries.
The petitioners, Joseph and Anthony Duncalf, said police who had been called to attend the incident were also concerned about the time it had taken the ambulance crew to arrive.
They told the committee that as they raised concerns locally about the incident they uncovered "numerous accounts" of other serious delays in response to 999 calls in and around the Dalbeattie area due to the shortage of vehicles and crews.
In their submission to the committee, they said: "In one of the most serious incidents, over the summer of 2011, a gentleman died at Colvend Golf Course after waiting one hour and 20 minutes for an ambulance to arrive."
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