A Pennar mum stranded at Glangwili, after her son was taken in by ambulance with a head injury, had to pay £100 to get home by taxi in the early hours of the morning.

Hayley Houghton's nine year old son, Jai cut his head badly at their home at around 7pm on November 24.

"It scared life out of me as there was so much blood," said Hayley. "My husband who is a mental health nurse said to call an ambulance."

When the ambulance arrived the paramedics spent about 20 minutes phoning both Glangwili and Withybush to determine where Jai should be taken. They eventually told Hayley that, as it was a head injury, they would have to go to Carmarthen.

Hayley said that when they arrived at Glangwili they waited in a queue of eight ambulances, after about 30 minutes they were admitted to A&E. They then waited for around four hours before Jai's head wound was glued by a nurse.

By this time it was well after 1am and Hayley started to think about getting home, neither she nor her husband drives and there was nobody that she could ask to come all that way at that time in the morning.

The receptionist was unable to get hold of a taxi and offered Hayley a blanket.

"It was nearly 3am by now and Jai was really tired," said Hayley. "I cuddled up to my son in the waiting area. It was uncomfortable and cold. I just wanted to get him home."

The receptionist eventually got hold of a taxi, which took Hayley and Jai back to Pennar, leaving them £100 out of pocket.

"We got through the door at 3.30am," said Hayley. "How could they do that to people? It was just wrong. I'm sure people in Africa get better health care than we do.

"Before the changes he would have gone to Haverfordwest and I would have had no problem getting a lift out."

Hayley is also worried about the fact that she took an ambulance out of Pembrokeshire for a non-life threatening injury, leaving fewer vehicles to cover the county.

"If they are driving somebody to Carmarthen it is taking ambulances out of Pembrokeshire. It's playing life and death with patients," she said. "Somebody else could have died while my son was sitting in that ambulance."