A 19-YEAR-old man was taken to hospital by air ambulance yesterday after his leg became trapped in a combine harvester.

A 19-YEAR-old man was taken to hospital by air ambulance yesterday after his leg became trapped in a combine harvester.

The accident happened at about 4.30pm at Wissington Grove Farm in Nayland.

The man, believed to be from the Thetford area and a member of staff on the farm, was released from the machinery before paramedics, Robbie Robinson and Glenn Butcher from the Essex Air Ambulance, could tend to his broken leg.

Captain Bob Brett, the pilot of the helicopter that attended the scene, said: “A lad had got his leg stuck in a harvester. He was trapped by his leg and had a broken tibia and fibia. The fire brigade was on the scene as well.

“We then flew him to Colchester Hospital. No doubt he will be in plaster for a few days. He was alert and coherent the whole time. His leg was actually trapped inside the machinery so it took about 40 minutes to get him out, a considerable amount of time, but it only took us three minutes to get him to hospital.”

A spokesman for the East Anglian Ambulance Trust said: “We were called at 4.30pm to a male trapped in some sort of roller. However we had an update from the crew at about 5.20pm saying that he was no longer trapped and had been freed. He is believed to have leg injuries. Essex Air Ambulance attended and conveyed the patient to hospital.”

A spokeswoman for Suffolk Fire Service said that they received a call at 4.37pm but the youth had already been released from the harvester when they arrived.

A spokeswoman for Essex Fire Service said they received a call at 4.50pm but they did not attend as crews from Suffolk were already there.