A MAN had to be rescued from a railway track after an eight tonne machine trapped him from the waist down.

The incident happened at Con Mech engineering firm at Harelaw Industrial Estate, Annfield Plain, County Durham, at 1am today.

The man suffered multiple broken bones and major trauma, after the machine moved along a railway track and wedged him against a static piece of equipment.

Firefighters had to use hydraulic lifting equipment to remove the huge machine from the tracks to release the man.

He was then taken to University Hospital of North Durham.

Watch manager Andrew Bennett, based at Consett fire station, said: “We were called to Conmech engineering firm at around 1am this morning.

"A man had got trapped between a moving piece of machinery on a railway track and a static machine.

“He was stuck from the waist down, he had severe injuries, including broken bones and fractures.

"And he was suffering extreme trauma to the lower part of his body.

“The piece of machinery measured around 5m by 3m and weighed between seven to eight tonnes.

"We used hydraulic lifting equipment to lift the machine off the track so the man could be released.

“Firefighters from Consett and High Handenhold attended along with a special tender from Bishop Auckland, and we were there for about two hours.”

The Health and Safety Executive will be investigating.