An elderly man in need of medical attention was forced to wait 30 minutes while an ambulance sent to reach him was obstructed by parked cars in St Julians this morning.

Mark Grech told Times of Malta his grandfather required an ambulance due to shortness of breath. The ambulance, however, was unable to get to the man’s home due to a number of legally parked cars in the narrowest section of the street.

The parking spaces effectively make it impossible for larger vehicles such as the ambulance to get through.

Mr Grech said the ambulance crew eventually had to drive around and reverse up the road from the other end, against the flow of traffic.

St Elias Street, where the incident occurred, is a narrow road in the St Julians village core. The parking spaces in question were removed in August 2013 but repainted some two months later, despite an official letter of complaint sent to the local council by around 30 residents.

“A solution which was devised with residents’ interests at heart has been reversed, leaving us with a risk of damage to property or loss of life,” said Dr John Vassallo, a local resident.

Dr Vassallo said on previous occasions a fire engine and an electrical repair vehicle had both found themselves stranded in the street in emergency situations.

He added that the situation was all the more unacceptable because there was room to reposition the parking spaces in a wider section of the road.