IT is an indictment on our systems when an elderly man who falls over in the street has to sit in the pouring rain for two hours waiting for an ambulance.

We have documented time and again the difficulties faced by the North West Ambulance Service: the fact that people who call an ambulance don't necessarily need one, the fact that Bolton A&E has to take more than its fair share of casualty patients because of its easy access to the motorway network, and generally the size of their overwhelming workload.

The ambulance service has changed the way it processes 999 calls - callers are asked questions to help the operator understand whether it is emergency care that is needed, or whether a less-urgent form of assistance might be more appropriate.

Add to that the fact that poor William Matthews had the misfortune to fall over on a Bank Holiday Monday.

You can understand why an ambulance might have taken a bit longer than usual to reach him.

It strikes us that William's case is probably one that has slipped through the net.

But it is a shocking that a man of his years should have to wait, covered by a blanket in the street for such a long time.

We applaud the NWAS for taking measures to concentrate its ambulances on the cases that need them most. But we think they had better get organised fast to prevent a case like Mr Williams' happening again. We wish Mr Williams a speedy recovery.