A GIRL was taken to hospital with a bike handlebar stuck in her leg after an accident in Colchester yesterday.The 10-year-old girl was riding a bike when she clipped a lamppost and fell in such a way that the she became impaled on the handlebar.

A GIRL was taken to hospital with a bike handlebar stuck in her leg after an accident in Colchester yesterday.

The 10-year-old girl was riding a bike when she clipped a lamppost and fell in such a way that the she became impaled on the handlebar.

Her mother flagged down a passing ambulance, which called for back up due to the serious nature of the incident.

Firefighters from Colchester fire station had to cut the handlebars off the bike and the girl was taken to Colchester General Hospital with the handlebar still stuck in her leg.

A BASICS emergency doctor followed the ambulance to hospital in case the girl's condition got worse.

The accident happened at the corner of Talcott Road and Queen Elizabeth Way, on the town's Monkwick estate, at 3.35pm.

Emergency medical technician Sarah Newman said: “The girl was lying on the pavement with the handlebar coming out of her right leg. As you can imagine she was in a great deal of pain and was very upset.

“We called for a paramedic backup and also took advice from a doctor based in the Emergency Operations Centre at Ambulance Headquarters.

“Due to the serious nature of the incident, a BASICS Emergency Doctor was sent to the scene.

“Firefighters who attended the scene removed the handlebars from the rest of the bike. This was necessary because it is not safe to take the metal out of the leg there and then.

“It was a very difficult incident for everyone involved. The girl, who comes from the Monkwick estate, was very brave considering the pain she must have been in and what was going on around her. It must have been very frightening.”

The girl was last night undergoing treatment in hospital to remove the metal and deal with the wound.