Rescue drama (From Penarth Times)

Rescue drama

A MAN, who lay helpless with a broken ankle after falling 25ft down a hole into the cellar of a remote derelict property, was rescued after passers-by heard his cries for help.

The incident happened at around 3pm on Tuesday, in the grounds of a derelict old house near the Caravan Park, at St Mary s Well Bay Road, Swanbridge.

The man is understood to have been checking over the property for the owner, when he stumbled and fell down the hole - which dropped 25ft into the cellar of the building.

His calls for help were heard shortly afterwards by passers-by walking along nearby St Mary s Well Bay Road.

The man, who was in his early 30s, suffered a broken ankle and was taken by ambulance to the University Hospital of Wales.

The South Wales Fire Service Special Rescue Unit was called in to help with the rescue.

Mark Bell, station officer at Penarth Fire Station, said: The rescue operation took a couple of hours in total to complete, because, initially, the man s injuries were feared to be worse than they turned out to be.

We could not take any risks.

Specialist rescue equipment including a tripod stretcher was used to winch him out of the hole.

The firemen involved in the rescue were working in very restricted space.

He wasn t in the hole for very long before we received the emergency call. I would say he was very fortunate that his calls for help were heard so quickly.

A spokesperson for the Vale of Glamorgan Council, said: Although the site is privately owned, the council has, as a temporary measure, instigated safety measures following this incident. We are continuing to investigate the current situation.