A teenager who cheated death in a freak accident last summer has thanked the ambulance crews who saved his life.

Harry Sage, an 18-year-old apprentice fabricator from Sudbury, was involved in a horrific accident in August last year after working on a forklift at a steel factory in Newmarket.

The teenager was working on his day off to help get a project finished when an 18-metre long steel beam weighing two and a half tonnes smashed through the cab of the forklift, breaking his jaw.

On instinct, Harry ducked and the steel beam lifted off his hard hat and cut into his scalp causing an injury from his forehead to the base of his neck.

He managed to free himself from the forklift but broke his collar bone as he fell.

Colleagues immediately called the emergency services and an East of England Ambulance Service (EEAST) team, consisting of Anthony Joslin and James Bugg, were first on the scene and radioed for support from the East Anglian Air Ambulance team from Cambridge. Harry was transferred to Addenbrookes Hospital by air ambulance.

He needed 46 staples to his head wound - which the surgeon described as one of the biggest head injuries he had ever seen - as well as surgery to fix his broken collar bone.

Harry has now visited the EAAA base in Cambridge to thank the ambulance crews who helped him and said: “I can remember a lot about the accident and the people who helped me.

“I know my accident was quite a significant one for the crews involved so it means a lot for me to be able to show them how I am now.

“The EAAA Aftercare team have been incredible and arranged getting the ambulance and air ambulance teams who came out to me together so that I could say thank you in person. That means more than I could ever say.”

James Bugg, an apprentice emergency medical technician with EEAST, said: “This was a fantastic example of teamwork between medics at EEAST and our colleagues at East Anglian Air Ambulance.

“By working closely together, we were able to ensure that Harry received the prompt treatment he needed which may well have saved his life. We are really pleased to be given the opportunity to meet Harry again earlier this month and were delighted to hear that he is doing so well.