a farmer was trapped for over an hour after falling 40 feet into a silo he was taken by firefighters to safety
A farm worker was taken to hospital this afternoon after falling into a huge empty silo, prompting a major rescue mission by firefighters.
A rope rescue team from Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service managed to get the man out of the structure in the village of Milton Ernest after being called at noon.
The worker was trapped for more than an hour before being pulled out, and he was taken to hospital by paramedics from the East of England Ambulance Service.
Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service tweeted this screenshot of its GoodSam footage from the silo rescue in the village of Milton Ernest this afternoon
The man was trapped for more than an hour before being rescued in Milton Ernest (file picture)
Fire crews said they used breathing apparatus, an aerial platform and a drone during their response, which involved the rope team from Dunstable.
The ambulance service sent its hazardous area response team, one ambulance and two officers to the scene which is about five miles north of Bedford.
The height of the silo is not known but the structures often measure between 30ft and 50ft. It has not yet been established how the man fell in.
The fire service said it used the GoodSAM platform which feeds live drone footage to emergency workers to keep them updated on a situation.
An East of England Ambulance Service spokesman said: 'We were called at 11.58am with reports of a person who had fallen into a silo in Milton Ernest.
'We sent the hazardous area response team, one ambulance and two ambulance officers. One person is being taken to hospital for further care.'
Earlier today, a Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: 'We were called to an incident at Milton Ernest at 12.04pm to support in a rescue of a farm worker who had fallen into a silo.
'We are working with EEAST to rescue the individual. We have sent a number of appliances including our rope rescue team from Dunstable.'
A silo is a tall tower or pit which is normally used to store grain on a farm.