A Birstall woman who had to give directions to an ambulance crew taking her husband to hospital is demanding more money be spent on recruiting and training staff.

Officials from the West Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambul-ance Service (WYMAS) are investigating the incident in which the crew asked Janet Blakeley how to get from Birstall to Dewsbury District Hospital.

Ian Blakeley, 40, an unemployed father of four, of Lowood Lane in Birstall, suffered a brain aneurysm while drinking in his local pub, The Raikes. Mrs Blakeley, 36, was then astounded when one of the ambulance crew asked her to get in and direct them.

"I couldn't believe that an ambulance crew didn't know how to get to the hospital,'' she said. "I eventually managed to get them there but then they didn't know the correct way to the accident and emergency department. The delay could have cost someone their life. Fortunately, Ian will recover.''

Mrs Blakeley said she did not blame the drivers and still had confidence in the ambulance service, but felt more money should be invested in the service so drivers from the locality could attend local incidents.

But a WYMAS spokesman said: "We have just had a big investment and during the last six months we have undergone an increase in our numbers of staff. A lot of new staff are coming towards the end of their training now."

He added: "Our crews cannot possibly know every area but we did the best we could to get the nearest available crew to the incident.

"We make every attempt to keep crews operational in familiar areas but crews have to be deployed where emergencies occur.''

It took the crew eight minutes to get to the hospital. "Therefore we feel there was no delay,'' he added.

The casualty department entrance had been moved following refurbishment.