A FOUR-hour rescue operation was launched after a man became trapped in a loft after suffering a back injury.

Annie Davidson

A FOUR-hour rescue operation was launched after a man became trapped in a loft after suffering a back injury.

The 31-year-old was moving boxes in the cramped space at a business premises on an industrial estate in Maldon when he hurt his back at 12.30pm yesterday.

Emergency services were called to the scene and firefighters called in the urban search and rescue team which specialises in releasing people from confined spaces.

East of England Ambulance Service paramedic Jo Poole said: “It was impossible to know exactly what kind of injury he'd suffered, but we always have to treat a back injury like this as if it were a potential spinal injury, so it was really important to keep him still.

“Meanwhile, we monitored the patient, kept his spine immobilised and kept his pain levels down by administering pain relief.

“It was a complicated situation because the entrance to the loft was really small, so it took a couple of hours before we were finally able to lower the patient to safety using a special flexible 'scoop' which is normally used to get people out of caves and other tiny spaces.

“The patient remained admirably calm throughout the ordeal, and we took him to Broomfield Hospital for further assessment and treatment.

“There was great cooperation between the emergency services as we worked together to ensure that, despite the tricky location of the patient.

“It was almost four hours between the time of the patient's initial injury and his arrival at hospital, but we knew we had to work painstakingly to ensure his back stayed perfectly immobilised, preventing any aggravation to his injury.”