4:22pm Monday 6th July 2009
By Michael Purton
AN ENGINEER has been rushed to hospital after falling almost 20 feet down a church bell tower.
Firefighters rescued the man from a lower level of the 80 foot tower at St Botolph’s Church, The Hill, Northfleet, after he fell at around 11am this morning.
Working alongside paramedics, two crews from Thames-side fire station lowered the man to safety and he was then taken to Darent Valley Hospital, suffering from lower back pain.
Crew manager Ray Kilbourne said: “We gained access using the internal stairs but the problem was how to get him down again.
"We managed to open a small access door to the outside and then we pitched a ladder from the ground to the side of a stone external staircase.
"We then lowered him gently down the front face of the ladder on a stretcher and longboard using safe access equipment.
“It was difficult because of the poor access but that’s not surprising as this church is a few centuries old.
"It was an unusual job but we had him down safely just after an hour.”
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