By Rebecca SheppardTHE wife of a 64-year-old man who was crushed between a lorry and a skip in an accident at work has spoken of her relief at his release from hospital.

By Rebecca Sheppard

THE wife of a 64-year-old man who was crushed between a lorry and a skip in an accident at work has spoken of her relief at his release from hospital.

Colin Goodchild is recovering at home today after suffering three fractured ribs and internal bruising in the accident.

He had spent a night in Ipswich Hospital following the accident, which happened at about 1pm on Friday at Graham Builders & Plumbing Merchants in the town's Great Whip Street.

Following numerous scans and monitoring every 15 minutes, he was released from Ipswich Hospital on Saturday night and his wife, Patricia, is now taking care of him.

Mrs Goodchild, of Byland Close, Ipswich, was alerted to the accident after the company phoned her son, Darren, a graphic designer in Ipswich.

She said: "They took him to Ipswich Hospital by ambulance. The helicopter came down too as it wasn't sure if they needed extra help.

"It looked pretty bad when I arrived, it was scary. Until you know the injuries, you can't say anything you, just think the worst.

"The hospital was brilliant. They couldn't have done more if he was the king. He had to have all the scans. Everything was done properly and quickly to see what was wrong."

Mr Goodchild, who also has a daughter, Michelle, along with two grandchildren, has worked at Graham Builders for 26 years and is due to retire in December.

He had given up driving lorries for the company and has been working inside the premises. The couple were planning to go on holiday in their caravan once he retired and had a week's holiday planned for three weeks' time.

But Mrs Goodchild, who supervises the canteen at Stoke High School in Ipswich during lunchtimes, said it was going to take at least eight weeks for her husband to recover, adding he needed painkillers every four hours at the moment.

Mr Goodchild also has pain in his arms, as he fell down after being crushed, and he is having difficulty moving, although his breathing is now getting easier as the bruising heals.

His wife said: "He does bounce back and doesn't make much fuss, which is how we know he's quite poorly."

Mrs Goodchild added her husband could not remember much about the accident, which involved a delivery lorry from an outside company.

Health and safety officers arrived at the scene shortly after it happened to investigate, but they have refused to comment at this stage.

It is not yet clear whether officers from the Health and Safety Executive or Ipswich Borough Council's environmental health department were taking on the case. However, incidents that involve warehouse and retail businesses are in most cases investigated by the local authority.

rebecca.sheppard@eadt.co.uk