A man is in a critical condition in hospital after a freak incident which saw him impaled by a drill.

The Magpas air ambulance and East of England Ambulance crews were called to Haddenham at about 10.30am on Wednesday following reports that a man, in his 20s, had suffered injuries to his neck and chest.

The East of England Ambulance Service said the man was replacing telegraph poles when the incident happened.

Mick King, paramedic for the East of England Ambulance Service, who attended the incident, said: “We believe the industrial drill had fallen from a cherry picker that was above the man who was on the ground working, and entered the back of his neck.

“It was embedded in by several inches but fortunately it just missed both his head and spine.

“We received a 999 call at 10.10am and sent an ambulance and Magpas Helimedix to the scene. After assessing the patient the critical care doctor sedated him, before he was taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital by land ambulance.

“On arrival he was believed to be in a serious but non life-threatening condition. Had the drill landed a slightly different place then things could have been a lot different - it’s certainly one of the more unusual incidents that I’ve attended.”

A spokesman for Magpas said: “At 10:30am this morning, Doctor Simon Lewis and paramedic Sally Boor arrived in Haddenham via the Magpas Helimedix Air Ambulance after a man sustained severe injuries to his neck and chest, when he was injured by a drill.

“The Magpas team sedated the patient, before accompanying him to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in a land ambulance. On arrival at the hospital, the man was in a critical but stable condition.”