A MAN is recovering in hospital with serious head injuries after the forklift truck he was driving at the Millfield industrial estate in Chard tipped over.

Emergency personnel were alerted to the accident at Chard Truck Services early on Wednesday morning with the man, who has not been named, trapped inside the forklift.

Fire and ambulance crews attended the scene and helped to free the man, who has been described as aged in his 50s, from the wreckage.

Firefighters used saws and cutting equipment to get through the metalwork of the forklift and remove the safety cage and seat before handing the casualty over to waiting paramedics who took him to Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton by ambulance.

Director Richard Wheaton, of the independent family-run commercial vehicle repair company, praised the emergency services for their excellent response to the accident.

“We are very thankful to the emergency services,” he said. “They got here so quickly and did an exceptional job.”

Police were also called to the industrial estate shortly after the incident at around 7.15am, while an investigation has now been launched into the accident by the Health and Safety Executive.

An HSE spokesman told the News: “We sent an inspector out to the site last week and we are investigating the incident.”

The man remains in intensive care at Musgrove in a stable condition.