Another ambulance was delayed in attending to a patient by tables and chairs obstructing its route in Valletta, witnesses said on Thursday. 

The incident occurred at around 1.15pm in St Lucia Street, just past the law courts and parallel to St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta, where several wine bars and eateries are known to have outdoor furniture installed. 

A picture snapped by a passer-by shows the ambulance waiting to squeeze past the tables, chairs and umbrellas that littered the street, as staff tried to usher their patrons and allow the vehicle to pass unobstructed. 

The issue was flagged by PN deputy whip Paula Mifsud Bonnici. 

"Despite all of this government's promises, the security and safety of people, especially Valletta residents, are not a priority," she said. 

One woman who was in the area at the time told Times of Malta that the ambulance was on its way to a patient and that she felt compelled to help clear the street furniture away.

"Unfortunately, in case of an emergency, an ambulance or fire engine is absolutely impossible to pass through," she said. 

"I was helping myself to move the tables, chairs, umbrellas and large coffee cups out of the way. Then once the ambulance managed to pass through St Lucia and collected the patient I guided the driver to pass back from the same street." 

This is at least the second time this year that an emergency vehicle has been documented encountering difficulty while navigating through Valletta's table and chair-congested streets. 

Back in March, local residents group Residenti Beltin published footage of an ambulance struggling to squeeze through a throng of outdoor catering furniture in Republic Street, reigniting a heated ongoing debate about the take up of public spaces by businesses. 

Last year, the University of Malta, which has a second campus in Valletta, was pushed to file a judicial protest against the local council, as it said the situation of tables and chairs outside its own front door had descended into "chaos". 

In 2023, Valletta's traditional Holy Week activities were marred as faithful participants had to wade through tables and chairs and contend with loud music being played during the solemn Good Friday procession. 

Residents took to the streets to protest the saturation of tables and chairs in their locality, while in Mellieħa, demonstrators occupied the furniture put out by a db group-run establishment in the village square, despite having no permit to do so at the time. 

In Victoria, Gozo, a similar situation unravelled earlier this year in St George's Square, where NGOs gathered to protest the takeover of the square's limited space by cafes and restaurants. 

This came after the Archpriest of St Geroge's Basilica went public with his grievances with the square's "landgrabbers" whom he said refused to compromise while rubbishing authorities' claims that they had no remit to intervene.