Firefighters rescue sick man through flat window

All three emergency services were involved in the rescue operation when the 23-stone man with suspected appendicitis was unable to fit the paramedic stretcher.

Firefighters were called to the flat in Kimberley Court, London Road, at tea time on Thursday.

A turntable ladder was used to stretcher the sick man, who was complaining of back pains, from his lounge window to the ambulance.

Police closed London Road for 30 minutes while the turntable appliance was manoeuvred into place and the whole operation took just an hour.

A fire brigade spokesman said: "The man was very poorly and, we believe, had just come home from hospital the day before. Ambulance men were unable to bring the man down the stairs in a chair or stretcher so we were called in. We got him out on a stretcher from the third floor lounge window. Luckily it was a big window which fully opened.

"The man was poorly and on oxygen. It only took a matter of minutes once the turntable ladder arrived.

"The man was a little embarrassed by the drama."