A FOOTBALLER who suffered a horrific injury to his leg during a match had to wait 36 minutes for an ambulance to arrive.

Marcus Hallows was in agony with his right leg broken so severely a bone was sticking out of his skin during a match for Altrincham FC.

The 29-year-old former Bolton Wanderers player, from Harwood, feared losing his leg after the paramedics took 36 minutes to attend.

Players and staff watched as the top of Marcus's foot began to turn blue, meaning the blood supply had been cut off, and fears grew that his leg might have to be amputated.

The centre-forward was taken to Wythenshawe Hospital and later discovered that he had broken his tibia and fibula bones.

At the hospital, Marcus started to 'flatline' - meaning that his heart stopped for a couple of minutes on the machine monitoring his heart rate - but doctors believe that was due to shock.

Now, recovering in hospital, Marcus described his ordeal. He said: "I was taking a shot at goal when I heard my leg crack and looked down and saw the injury.

"It was a nightmare and I can't believe the length of time it took for the ambulance to arrive.

"I was fortunate that I was in the good hands of the physio and club doctor. Without them, I could have lost my leg."

A steel rod and metal pins have been inserted into his leg and Marcus hopes to be walking on crutches by the end of the week.

Paul and Ann Hallows, Marcus' mother and father, were at the Reebok stadium for the Wanderers match against Norwich when they received a call informing them of their son's injury.

Due to the ambulance delay, they managed to arrive at the hospital before their son.

Marcus is a former Bolton Wanderers reserve player.

A spokesman for the Greater Manchester Ambulance Service said: "When the control room received the call it was given a coding which meant it wasn't an emergency call.

"Therefore we responded accordingly."