A 65-YEAR-OLD man suffered multiple injuries after a straw bale weighing one tonne fell on top of him, paramedics said.The man had been working at Birds Farm in Blacksmiths Lane, Thorpe Morieux, near Bury St Edmunds, yesterday afternoon when the accident happened at about 3.

A 65-YEAR-OLD man suffered multiple injuries after a straw bale weighing one tonne fell on top of him, paramedics said.

The man had been working at Birds Farm in Blacksmiths Lane, Thorpe Morieux, near Bury St Edmunds, yesterday when the accident happened at about 3.50pm. The round bale tumbled off a forklift loader and crushed the man's legs.

He suffered multiple fractures to both legs, a fracture of his pelvis and had to have part of his left foot amputated after being airlifted to West Suffolk Hospital, in Bury St Edmunds.

Dr Andrew Mason, of the Suffolk Accident Rescue Service (SARS), was picked up at a cricket field in Rattlesden, near Stowmarket, by the East Anglian Air Ambulance on route to the accident.

"The bale had already been moved by the time we got there but the man had sustained serious multiple fractures of his pelvis and lower limbs. It was a particularly unpleasant accident and he was in a lot of pain," said Dr Mason.

Following the 999 call, a rapid response vehicle with a GP and a medic from the Bildeston Health Centre attended the scene – and requested extra help from the SARS doctor.

Dr Mason added: "I administered a general anaesthetic to the injured man in order to facilitate the straightening and splinting of his fractured limbs."

The air ambulance, staffed by Andy Bates, Simon Cookson and Mark Bilby, helped the victim with oxygen and pain relieving gas while Dr Mason supplied the additional drugs.