Firefighters free stuck delivery vehicle - and man's arm - in Midhurst

On Saturday morning, the retained crew at Midhurst Fire Station was mobilised to help rescue a man whose arm had become trapped in the engine bay of a vehicle he was restoring.

"The call came in at 10.46am, and saw the crew mobilised alongside the service’s Technical Rescue Unit to an address off Highstead Lane in Lickfold," a spokesman for West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said.

"Crews worked quickly and carefully to release the man without injury, or damage to the vehicle he had been working on."

Whilst returning to the fire station, the crew came across a Tesco delivery lorry that had 'come into contact with some scaffolding' on North Street.

The spokesman said: "Firefighters made contact with the scaffolding company and were able to safely free the lorry from the structure with no further damage."

Tesco said the delivery vehicle 'lightly touched' the end of an overhanging piece of scaffolding pole and the driver 'stopped immediately' to seek professional assistance.

A spokesperson added: "We’re very grateful to the fire service for their assistance on Saturday in removing the overhanging scaffolding pole.”

Joint Fire Control was then alerted to reports of a fire involving vegetation at Chapel Common near Milland. An appliance from Bordon was mobilised to the scene.

"Fortunately the fire was out upon arrival," the West Sussex fire service spokesman added. "Firefighters dampened down the area to ensure there were no further hotspots, but an area of around 10x5metres was damaged by fire."

The fire in the open comes after the Midhurst crew tackled a wildfire over three acres on Friday evening at Midhurst Common.

The crew was mobilised shortly after 4pm, and 'due to the remote location of the fire within the woods', had to use almost 30 lengths of hose from the nearest hydrant to tackle the fire.

The fire service continued: “With warmer weather continued to be forecast over the coming weeks, we would like to remind all residents of the dangers of starting fires in the countryside.

"These can very easily get out of control and have devastating consequences on the countryside and people’s properties.”