FIREFIGHTERS faced a race against time to rescue a workman who had fallen down a hole at a construction site.

The man was working at the Great Tew estate near Chipping Norton on Monday at about 9.20pm when he fell down the four-metre hole.

With darkness setting in, fire crews had to work fast to try to safely and securely lift the man out of the hole.

They also faced a challenge to make sure the air remained breathable in the hole while they carried out the rescue.

Improvising, firefighters including a specialist rope rescues team from Kidlington Fire Station used a digger on the site to set up a rope lifting system.

They deployed floodlights and used an air sampling unit to make sure the air was breathable as a basket stretcher attached to the digger’s bucket was lowered into the hole to rescue the injured man.

The man was successfully pulled from the hole, having broken a leg in two places.

Fire service incident commander, group manager David Bray said: “This was an excellent example of partnership working with our colleagues in South Central Ambulance Service.”

Mr Bray added: “Although an unusual incident, all crews worked really well together to achieve a successful outcome as the incident required both specialist rescue knowledge & equipment and medical expertise.”