Waiter's hand trapped at town centre restaurant

Buy photos » The air ambulance was forced to land outside the RST. Picture courtesy of Jason Adams (s)

THE AIR ambulance had to land outside the RST today after a waiter at a town centre restaurant in the town got his arm stuck in a dumbwaiter.

Sheep Street was closed as firefighters tried for an hour to free the man who got his arm jammed in the mechanical lift at the Mida Mediterranean Coffee House and Restaurant.

It happened at around 9.30 am at Mida, on the corner of High Street and Sheep Street.

The air ambulance tried to land at the scene its propellers meant parasols and chairs were thrown across the road forcing the pilot to land outside the RST instead.

The condition of the waiter, who is in his forties, is not yet known but his injuries are not thought to be serious.

Paul Mullins, Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance paramedic, said: "We landed our helicopter near the Royal Shakespeare Company.

"The man was experiencing a loss of sensation in his left arm which had been freed from the lift by the fire service.

"The ambulance crew gave him pain relief and we flew him to University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire. He was in a stable and comfortable condition."