The family of a 72-year-old grandmother in a serious condition in hospital have spoken of their shock after a video emerged of an ambulance crew "messing around" as they prepared to transport her in.

The medics had been called to the Norwich home of Linda Didwell, after her husband phoned 111 for advice when she began vomiting.

They assessed her at the scene before taking her to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital where she remains in a serious condition.

But footage, filmed by a neighbour and posted on social media, shows the moment the two medics collected the stretcher from the ambulance to take Mrs Didwell in to hospital, as she waited inside her property in pain.

It shows a male crew member lying down on the stretcher as he uses his mobile phone, before then being pushed along by his female colleague.

The incident happened on July 19, but Mrs Didwell's family only became aware of it days later, when a relative stumbled on the video while browsing TikTok.

The family say it shows the ambulance crew were not taking the grandmother's care seriously enough and have reported it to the East of England Ambulance Service, which says it is investigating.
(Image: Instagram)

The video, which has been viewed more than 350,000 times, was posted on Instagram by the neighbour, Irina Hoppie, and accompanied with the caption "enjoy your life".(Image: Instagram)

Kayleigh Didwell, Mrs Didwell's granddaughter, said: "My uncle found the video and instantly recognised where it was and we could not believe it. We were all in shock.

"I fully understand that ambulance crews have a really difficult job and need to keep up their morale. They're allowed to have a laugh and a joke during work but they also need to think carefully about how things can look to people in public.

"As a family, we were really shocked to see the video and it just made us feel like they were not taking my grandmother's care seriously enough."

Miss Didwell said her grandfather had also watched the video and recognised the crew from when they had attended to assess his wife.

She added: "He said at the time he felt they were a bit rude and condescending and were messing around a bit, but did not say any more about it at the time.

"At this point, they had gone to collect the stretcher to take her down to the ambulance and take her to hospital.

"To think there was such a lack of urgency when she was in such pain says to us that she was not being taken seriously at all."

Ms Hoppie, a former care home worker, said she spotted the incident while filming her cat sitting on her balcony.

"I found it quite strange that they did not seem to be in any hurry for somebody in need - so that is why I filmed them," she said.

"I worked in the care sector for seven years myself, so I know it's important to be able to have a laugh and a joke sometimes, but never during an emergency situation.

"If the person was so unwell, why would they be messing around?"

Melissa Dowdeswell, chief of clinical operations at the East of England Ambulance Service Trust, said: “A member of the public has sent us a video that appears to show an ambulance crew exhibiting behaviour that falls short of the standards we expect.

"I would like to thank them for sharing the video with us.

“We are investigating this as a matter of urgency.”