Stroke victim left paralyzed after UK climate protest blockading M25 delayed trip to hospital

The M25 road first established in 1975—and completed by '86—is one of the most crucial highways in the UK. It makes for the perfect spot for protesters to obstruct traffic. A caller dialed into LBC's Andrew Pierce program to tell the host about the situation he and his family had to endure because of the protesters.

"I was caught for about six hours in traffic. I was doing a mission of mercy to help my mother. Because there was a delay for getting her to hospital, an ambulance… Couldn't get to her in time. Stuck in traffic. So they suspected she was having a stroke. And so I took it upon myself to try and get her to aid as soon as I possibly can because the huge delay for an ambulance and proper attending physician at the home just wasn't acceptable. So I took it upon myself to solve it, and we got caught in this traffic…" the stroke victim's son, Chris, said.

"Was this on the M25?" asked the LBC radio host. "Correct," responded the caller.

29 Insulate Britain protesters were corralled by police in Monday's round-up, per the Guardian. But the BBC tally has it at 41 overall.

"And it should have been no more than say a half an hour [...] We were there for six hours," Chris continued. "Oh dear," Pierce said in reaction.

"And the reason why I'm … these people ... Are playing it off as if it was nothing. If it was their mother, I was there in my car, with my mother, for six hours…. watching her slip away in front of my very eyes. And I could do nothing. I couldn’t help her, and at one point she put her hand on my leg, and looked to me and said 'Oh, oh Chris. I don't feel very well.' And that was the last words that she's been able to speak to me. And when we got her to the hospital, the doctors said if we were to got to them within 90 minutes, her symptoms … her recovery, would've been minimal. Would've been minimized. Because she had been left to … endure … a full-on stroke, for six hours. It is severe. She's got complete paralysis now down her left side. She can't speak. But her eyes are wide and you can see what's going on," Chris describe what he experienced during the family crisis.

"So she's completely mentally aware, Chris? But she can't speak and she's physically disabled ... she's in hospital now, is she?" Pierce asked.

The caller confirmed: "I'm so angry and so upset. This did not need to happen."

Meanwhile over at the Independent, the British news outlet's opinion column argues more residents need to join the M25 blockade.

Furious impacted motorists unable to travel to work have clashed with eco-mob Insulate Britain for blocking access to the M25 again. One particular driver took the stoke victim's story to heart and clashed with the demonstrators.

"You're stopping someone from getting to hospital … why the hell do you think this is the right thing to do?" the driver shouted at the protesters.