AN emergency call was sent to the wrong ambulance while a retired miner was left dying in front of his helpless sons.

A vehicle was summoned for Edward Parker, 78, but the call went unheard in the unmanned vehicle cab.

No check-up call was made to see why the vehicle had not responded, and for 37 minutes the pensioner lay dying in his home - just five minutes from hospital.

It was only when a later call came in asking the crew to attend an emergency that control staff realised Mr Parker had been overlooked.

By the time it was discovered all ambulances had been called out and could not attend Mr Parker's home in Wrekenton, Gateshead.

It eventually arrived two hours and eight minutes after the original call - by which time Mr Parker had been dead approximately ten minutes.

His outraged family have received an apology, but have been told no one will be disciplined over the control room mistake by North East Ambulance service.

Mr Parker's son David, 47, said: "It is really distressing."

Ambulance service director of operations Steve Whinfield said an alert should have been sent to one of the manned ambulances and that it was no fault of the crew in question, who had been waiting like coiled springs.

Mr Whinfield said: "It should have gone to an ambulance that had a crew in it. In error we sent details to an uncrewed ambulance and did not pick up on that for 37 minutes."