Fire crews come to the rescue of woman trapped in ditch

It is not known how long the woman was left after she fell down the 15 foot ditch. She suffered from shock and cold when rescued but left generally uninjured.

A farmer used a digger and the local fire crew were all involved in the rescue which lasted 45 minutes.

The woman’s father discovered her lying in the ditch that morning with the electric wheelchair on top of her.

The woman is believed to have got up early that morning, and had been out in her garden when the incident happened.

Watch Commander Rodney Balmer, said the woman could have been trapped from any time from 20 minutes to two hours.

When her father discovered her, he believed that she had been out from that morning, as she was fully clothed.

As she moved around the garden her wheelchair lost control and slipped into a ditch, at the house at Carson Lane and the vehicle then fell on top of her.

Firefighters used telescopic equipment and manual handling techniques to rescue the woman. The woman was checked over by ambulance personnel at the scene.

Rodney Balmer, Watch Commander said, “The woman was suffering from shock and cold but generally left uninjured, thankfully. A farmer used a digger to help get her out, while the crews did an excellent job getting her out.

“There is a brave weight in the wheelchair and that was on top of her. We don’t know for how long. We are still unsure what really happened wether she may have hit a button or whether the back wheel had hit something and she fell into the ditch. We are still not sure.

“We could not establish just how long she had been there. It could have been anything from 20 minutes to two hours we are not entirely sure.

“Whatever happened she fell into the ditch and became trapped.

“As the digger was used to get the vehicle out fire crews were able to lift her out.

“She was OK and apart from being cold she was unharmed. She also suffered from shock as well. Thankfully all is well.”