A STROKE victim was stranded in his car for at least 16 hours and covered in flies by the time an ambulance reached him.

The man, in his 50s, suffered a mild stroke while driving on the Wheatley to Great Milton road on Sunday evening and careered off into a field.

Keith Palmer, from Wheatley, saw the man inside the red Datsun car while out walking his dog at about 8.30pm, but thought he was "just taking a breather".

He did nothing then, but when he was out again yesterday lunchtime he saw the car again and called the police.

Mr Palmer said: "I did not think any more of it but when I came back this guy was still there. I thought I had better take a closer look at him. "When I got inside, I could see he was still breathing."

Mr Palmer got back in his van and drove back to Wheatley where he called the police. Officers called the ambulance service after finding the man still alive.

The man, from Headington, Oxford, had been slumped at the wheel for 16 hours by the time paramedics took him to the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, where his condition was described as "serious".

Ambulance supervisor John Lowe said: "He had a bit of a stroke and he was very unlucky.

"He was in a poor state when we arrived - he was covered in flies the crew said - but the prognosis is quite good."

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