A MAN was seriously injured in Yelverton on Friday morning after he was in collision with a car which had mounted a pavement, knocking him into an estate agency window.

Police said the incident, involving a Citroen C4, occurred outside Ward and Chowen on The Parade at around 10.20am.

Yelverton firefighters were soon in attendance.

Watch commander Fred Glanville said: 'The man was trapped by his leg, stuck between the car and the base of the window.

'Our crew manager Kevin Brown, who is also a paramedic by profession, did a great job, giving him first aid treatment and monitoring his condition.'

Mr Glanville was full of praise for Ward and Chowen's Neil Woolcock, who assisted the casualty.

'The man from the estate agency did an absolute stirling job, supporting the man for at least 20 minutes while we tried to get the car off to release him.'

Dr Peter Smith and a nurse from Yelverton surgery were on hand and they were later joined by the duty accident and emergency NHS doctor.

Dr Marc Epps and Dr Ian Higginson from Plymouth Locality Immediate Medical Support (PLIMS), which responds to entrapment road traffic collisions, administered pain killers to the trapped man, described by police as in his 60s. Once the drugs took effect the fire crew began to release him.

Fire crews from Yelverton and Crownhill worked together using hydraulic rescue equipment and an air lifting bag to release the casualty.

The injured man, who sustained serious leg injuries, was taken by ambulance to Derriford Hospital.

Mr Woolcock said: 'There were just my wife Diane and I here in the office at the time.

'I was sitting at my desk about eight feet from the window and heard a car engine rev and didn't take much notice of it — then all of a sudden a car appeared through the shop front bringing in a pedestrian who happened to be walking past at the time.

'He was in a huge amount of discomfort his leg was squashed between the front of the car and the wall below the shop front.

'My first thoughts were just to help the man and relieve him of his obvious discomfort and I just supported him while the fire brigade and paramedics did their job.

'The emergency services were just brilliant, I couldn't believe how fast they got there.'

Mr Woolcock added that he, Diane and all at Ward and Chowen wished the injured man a speedy recovery.

Because of the incident, the Yelverton office of Ward and Chowen will be temporarily closed for around two weeks. Staff will be re-located to the company's Tavistock office.

Police confirmed that the male driver of the vehicle was uninjured and that they were investigating the circumstances of the collision.