Worker crushed by farm machinery

A 35-year-old man was crushed between machinery while working on a farm in Shropshire. He was airlifted to hospital with a suspected broken pelvis.

Wayne Williams, from St Martins, became trapped between a tractor's tyre and a barn girder while working at the Griffin Farm, at Criftins, near Ellesmere, at 10.20am yesterday.

He was taken to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, where he remained today.

Wendy Hickson, Mr Williams's employer, said he had been working with one other man on the farm when the accident happened.

She said when Mr Williams's colleague raised the alarm, she went to give him emergency first aid.

"I went up and gave him first aid but there was not much I could do because I could not move him because I was not sure what the injuries would be. I just put something under his head and sat with him and talked to him and tried to keep him awake," she said.

"I just tried to check him for any signs of any problems, I just did the best I could under the circumstances. He was fully conscious the whole time so he was in pain, but he was okay."

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said it was believed Mr Williams was guiding the tractor back when the accident happened.

She said: "The 35-year-old man was treated at the scene for a suspected fractured pelvis before being airlifted to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire for further assessment and treatment."

The Health and Safety Executive has been informed of the accident.