AN investigation is under way today after a 23-year-old woman plunged 10ft down a cellar at an Ipswich restaurant.Crowds looked on as the emergency services arrived at D-Tapas in St Nicholas Street to help the injured woman.

By AMANDA CRESSWELL

amanda.cresswell@eveningstar.co.uk

AN investigation is under way today after a 23-year-old woman plunged 10ft down a cellar at an Ipswich restaurant.

Crowds looked on as the emergency services arrived at D-Tapas in St Nicholas Street to help the injured woman.

The female employee, who has not been named, fell down the cellar in the bar area at 1.30pm yesterday.

Paramedics contacted the fire service to help transfer the woman – who was lying on the cellar floor – onto a spinal board before being carefully stretchered into a waiting ambulance.

The manager of D-Tapas, who declined to be named, said: "There was an accident involving an employee at D-Tapas. The person was admitted to Ipswich Hospital.

"I personally contacted an environmental health officer who has granted us fit to open at 5 pm."

An ambulance service spokeswoman said the woman was taken to Ipswich Hospital for treatment but her injuries were not thought to be life-threatening.

Assistant Divisional Office Paul Seager, of Princes Street fire station, said: "The woman fell about 8 to 10 ft down the cellar.

"We helped the ambulance crew lift her out. She was treated as if she had spinal injuries.

"We took every precaution to reduce the risk

of worsening her injuries."

Ipswich Borough Council has been informed of the accident and its commercial services team are investigating.

Dr Paul Silverston, chairman of the Suffolk Accident Rescue Service, said: "A spinal board would be used in cases such as this as standard practice because of the potential of spinal injury as a result of the distance fallen.

"The fire service would provide extra help in cases such as this and also have extra equipment such as ropes and a special stretcher which would have been used to help extricate her."

Yesterday's accident was the second serious incident in a Suffolk workplace over the past week. On Wednesday Lorraine Waspe, 40, of Great Finborough, died following an accident at the Bury St Edmunds Sugar Beat Factory.