BRADFORD Council has clarified its stance on a viral video which saw an ambulance blocked by bollards in the Kirkgate area of the city centre.

The video - shared more than 1,000 times on Facebook with hundreds of comments - was posted around 6pm yesterday, showing a pedestrian using a buzzer system and talking to a Council employee.

According to the original poster, the ambulance was a "first responder call to a old lady in Kirkgate". 

The blue lights were not running at the time the video was filmed.

In the video, the employee is heard saying the bollards cannot be brought down because it is a "one way system" and that the ambulance should leave via "Bank Street", an "automatic system".

It was met with a storm of negative comments from viewers with one branding the situation "absolutely ridiculous".

But, in a statement issued today, the Council was quick to clarify that the bollards would have been lifted if the crew were running their blue lights and that it would not have been “safe nor sensible” in this situation.

The full video (Warning: this clip contains swearing):

A spokesperson for Bradford Council said: “We are aware of this incident and video.

“All emergency vehicles operating blue lights are always given 24 hour access to the pedestrianised area in Bradford city centre.

“However, the ambulance service has confirmed this was not an emergency and the crew weren’t running their blue lights.

“Across the UK emergency vehicles not operating in an emergency have to follow the Highway Code.

“Had we lowered the bollards, the ambulance would have been forced to drive the wrong way down a one way road which is clearly not safe nor sensible. 

“We spoke to the ambulance crew on the night, who accepted the situation, and we helped redirect them to the safest and fastest route.”