£2.8m award for ambulance delay

A woman who suffered brain damage after taking an overdose has accepted £2.8m damages from an ambulance service over delays in reaching her.

Claire Burchell, 25, was living in Cleveleys, Lancashire, in October 2001 when she took the overdose while suffering from post-natal depression.

She said the ambulance took 30 minutes to reach her and there were "failures" in her treatment en route to hospital.

The trust agreed to pay compensation without admitting liability.

Mrs Burchell, who now lives in Milton Keynes, said in a document produced at the High Court in London that the ambulance should have taken only 10 minutes to arrive at her house.

'Waited four years'

She was suffering depression following the birth of her second child in November 2000.

Mr Justice Newman said it was a "wholly appropriate settlement".

The family's solicitor, Tom Osborne, said following the hearing that "from the time of the emergency call it took half an hour for the ambulance service to locate Mrs Burchell".

He added: "The family has had to wait four years for an agreed settlement and after their tragic experience we are relieved they have not had to endure the trauma of a trial."