FIREFIGHTERS used hydraulic lifting equipment tonight to free a man trapped beneath four tonnes of steel.
One of his legs became stuck under the sections of steel inside a building on the George Street Industrial Estate, Seaham.
A fire crew from Seaham responded shortly before 8.30pm and administered oxygen before the arrival of an ambulance. A special rescue unit from Bishop Auckland also attended.
Adrian Emberson, crew manager at Seaham fire station, said access to the injured man had been extremely difficult.
Two firefighters had to crawl through to reach him and put the hydraulic lifting rams in place.
The man was released after ten minutes and was taken to hospital suffering from crush injuries to his leg.
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