A 28-year-old woman was flown to hospital with severe back pain after falling from her horse in north Essex.Within five minutes of the 999 call, a land ambulance arrived on the scene near Colchester Road, Wix, quickly followed by the air ambulance.

By Roddy Ashworth

A 28-year-old woman was flown to hospital with severe back pain after falling from her horse in north Essex.

Within five minutes of the 999 call, a land ambulance arrived on the scene near Colchester Road, Wix, quickly followed by the air ambulance.

Aircrew Paramedic Karl Edwards said the call was received at 11.43am this morning.

“After falling from her horse, the woman managed to get herself back to her car.

“She then realised she was in too much agony to drive and knew she needed urgent medical help.

“We were concerned about the possibility of a spinal injury, and initially it looked like we were going to have to ask to the fire service to cut away the roof to get her out safely.

“However, as it turned out, there were removable seats at the back of her vehicle, and we were able to get her out through the boot using a spinal board to ensure her back was fully immobilised.

“We administered pain relief and flew her to Colchester General Hospital, where they will perform further tests to determine the extent of her injury.”

The woman, who was from Harwich, had phoned a friend to come and collect her horse.