A PARAMEDIC had to run to a patient's home after an ambulance was sent down a narrow road by a computer navigation system - before being stopped in its tracks by three bollards.

The crew member had go on foot to Browning Close in Kidderminster as colleagues cut padlocks on the Offmore Lane posts - which then retracted into the ground.

The male patient, in his 40s, had reported breathing problems at about 7pm on Tuesday night and the call was a priority for the crew.

The incident has raised fears about the reliability of the ambulance's onboard satellite navigation system, which shows directions on a computer screen.

The vehicle should not have been sent down Offmore Lane as it was "not even a road", said Mike Oborski, a councillor for Offmore and Comberton on Wyre Forest District Council.

He added: "Clearly, the satellite navigation used was misleading. It does raise the point that if you are going to use satellite navigation it all depends how accurate the information it gives is."

He added: "The paramedic would have had to run for a couple of minutes to Browning Close. If they actually needed the equipment in the ambulance they could have been in trouble. It could have caused a serious incident if they found they couldn't get through."

Mr Oborski said Offmore Lane should not be used as an access road to Browning Close.

He added: "We have had problems in the past with vehicles trying to gain access via the lane which is potentially dangerous."

A spokeswoman for Hereford and Worcester Ambulance Trust said: "The paramedic got there on foot, a colleague followed a few minutes later and the barriers were cut down.

"This case is very rare. The satellite navigation system makes life a great deal easier most of the time so it is unusual. It is a very useful tool for very rural areas."