A 34-YEAR-OLD man was flown to hospital after an accident at a remote Lancashire quarry.

He fell from his mechanical digger while working at the quarry in Waddington, near Clitheroe, yesterday lunchtime and it is thought he fractured his ankle.

The North West Air Ambulance was scrambled from its base in Blackpool and pilot Shaun Tinkler Rose was able to fly the helicopter right into the middle of the quarry just yards from the scene of the accident.

A land ambulance was already on the scene and assisted air ambulance paramedics to put the patient on board the aircraft.

He was then flown to Royal Preston Hospital in a journey which took just six minutes. It would have taken at least 35 minutes by road.

NWAA spokesman Paul Crone said: "This was a tricky place for our pilot to land. Shaun did a great job setting it down in a tight spot in the quarry.

"With the help of the land crew, we managed to get the patient into the helicopter quickly and get him to hospital in just over five minutes."

The North West Air Ambulance operates seven days a week, 365 days a year.

But the charity receives no Government funding and does not qualify for lottery grants.