A MAN was rescued from under a train carriage after falling from a footbridge yesterday.

He was recovering in hospital last night after being treated for head injuries and a fractured left arm.

The alert was raised when the man fell into the path of the train at the University Metro Station, in Sunderland, at 1.10pm.

Lead paramedic Roger Adcock, of the North-East Ambulance Service, praised the efforts of colleagues Brian Carr, Stuart Thompson and Louise Morley and of the firefighters.

He said: "They worked in very cramped conditions. It was potentially dangerous as well, with the threat of hot plates. They all worked really well as a team."

A spokesman for Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service said the man was trapped under the second carriage of the train.

He said: "The casualty was placed on a stretcher while still under the carriage, before being moved to a rail buggy and transported on it to the station.

"There he was placed in an ambulance. A relief metro diver then drove the train to the station to allow passengers to disembark."

A Nexus spokesman said the service, between Pelaw and South Hylton, was suspended for about 40 minutes, but services were resumed by rush-hour.

A British Transport Police spokesman said: "We do not know whether the incident was suspicious or not and are investigating."