A 63-year-old man, who was airlifted to hospital after a Christmas Eve accident outside Tavistock's Woolworths store, has expressed sincere gratitude for the 'remarkable' efforts made by the local services.

John Kidger from Cheltenham was taken to hospital by air ambulance with a suspected femur fracture after a car mounted the pavement outside Woolworths and struck the shopfront window on Christmas Eve at about 11.50am.

Mr Kidger was enjoying a tour of the town's market and viewing its architecture with his wife, two daughters and three grandchildren before the incident took place.

He said: 'At midday I was knocked over and had a car run over both my legs, breaking one of them and my arm.

'Luckily, no other family member was hurt and I remained conscious and was able to witness a remarkable co-ordinated effort by your local services.

'Firstly, three members of the public came forward to administer first aid. Two ambulance crews, the police, and two fire crews liaised with a doctor in an amazingly well executed procedure to ensure I was first assessed and treated prior to being airlifted from the confines of the churchyard by air ambulance.'

Mr Kidger said that even the Rev Michael Brierley came to see him while in the churchyard before 'take-off' and then later in Plymouth's Derriford Hospital.

Mr Kidger added: 'My thanks to all those who assisted, including the manager of Woolworths who looked after my wife. Special thanks to Graham the medic and doctor Tony Higginson — 'Higgy' — who accompanied me and stopped the pain.

'I hope you people of Tavistock, who live in the lovely quiet market town, appreciate and support your superb emergency services — you can rest assured that should you need them they will act fast and professionally.'

Another man was also injured in the accident on Christmas Eve. He was a 46-year-old from Sevenstones near Gunnislake, who was taken to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth by land ambulance with chest injuries.

Duke Street was sealed off to traffic for a few hours following the incident while the car was recovered and made safe by firefighters, and allowed police to collect evidence from the scene.

The traffic division is currently investigating the cause of the collision.