A series of failings meant it took the ambulance service 30 minutes to travel just three miles to reach a Bristol heart attack patient, an inquest heard.

Retired teacher John Eickhoff, 71, was left waiting for medical help at The Mall, Cribbs Causeway, when he collapsed in his car.

The inquest at Flax Bourton heard a rapid responder should have been there in five minutes after being dispatched from the Shield Retail Park in Filton but took 30 minutes to arrive on October 13 last year.

The hearing was told Mark Braddock, who was working for an agency used by Great Western Ambulance Service, was not familiar with the Bristol area and encountered problems with his satellite navigation system.

The Welshman was sent down a closed road twice, had to pull over to call a control centre and ended up reaching Cribbs Causeway via the M5 before driving into the wrong car park at The Mall, the inquest was told.

Coroner Anthony Woodburn heard that when ambulance technician Mr Braddock arrived he initially pulled out an oxygen mask designed for child because he could not find one for an adult.

And when he attached a defibrillator to the pensioner, he discovered he was dead.

Mr Woodburn was told a paramedic did not reach Mr Eickhoff until 14 minutes after Mr Braddock arrived - 44 minutes after the 999 call was made.

However, a pathologist said Mr Eickhoff's heart failure was so severe he wouldn't have been saved by a swift response.

The inquest heard GWAS aimed to get a rapid responder to Category A, or life-threatening, calls within eight minutes and an ambulance and paramedic there within 19 minutes.

Mr Eickhoff's widow Sue, 67, who lived with him in Kingswood, said she hoped lessons had been learned from the failings.

She said: "I hope they don't make those mistakes again. The ambulance service says it has corrected some of their procedures now and I hope their systems have changed."

Mrs Eickhoff's daughter Philippa Ficuciello, 43, who lives in Fishponds, said: "We know he couldn't be saved and wouldn't have suffered but this inquest might save somebody else's life if procedures are put in place."

The inquest heard Mr Braddock was employed by an ambulance trust in Wales and also as a rapid responder for Aztec West-based Evolved Medical Services, which was used by Great Western Ambulance Service for emergency response calls.

Andrew Parker, head of controls at GWAS, said problems Mr Eickhoff had experienced with his satellite navigation system had been rectified since the incident.

Recording a verdict of death by natural causes, Mr Woodburn said: "He (Mr Eickhoff) wasn't affected substantially by the failures we have heard about.

"It must be of some comfort to Mrs Eickhoff that she won't have to live with the prospect of blame for her husband's departure."