A MAN was seriously injured when a crane toppled over and crushed him into the side of a bungalow.

He was pulled free with the help of five men, including an electrician who has been described as a "hero".

The injured man was helping deliver a hot tub into the garden of a house, when the ground underneath the crane appeared to give way.

The crane also crashed into the roof of a nearby house where an elderly couple were inside.

Paul Whitby, who was having the hot tub delivered, said: "Gregg the electrician dived in and pulled him out. He was quite a hero actually, because if he hadn't pulled him out he would have died.

"He was at risk because he could have been crushed himself. He did a wonderful job, as did the ambulance service."

The hot tub landed next to the conservatory of the elderly couple.

The woman who lives in the house was in an upstairs bathroom when she heard a loud bang as the crane crashed into her roof.

Mr Whitby, 48, added: "I thought the tub had landed in their conservatory at first, so I thought 'My God', because they spend most of their time in there. It was a scary moment.

"I had just gone in the kitchen and heard a shout and a crash and came running out."

The incident happened in Stoke Lane, Gedling, at about 1.45pm yesterday.

The crane was situated behind a derelict bungalow which is due to be demolished next week.

Gregg Titmuss, the electrician who helped pull the man free, was waiting to wire the hot tub in when the incident took place.

Mr Titmuss said: "I heard a commotion. I saw the tub coming down rather rapidly. It landed. I spotted Richie stuck between the derelict bungalow and the crane.

"He was conscious and talking. I dragged him out and we rang the ambulance and pulled him further away and kept him conscious and talking with us."

The injured man, aged 20 and known as Richie, was taken to the Queen's Medical Centre with serious but not life-threatening abdominal and pelvic injuries.

Alan Marwood, from East Midlands Ambulance Service said: "It was very difficult to get him out of the site, we had to get him out very quickly."

He was transferred to the high dependency unit and is expected to remain in hospital for a few days.

A structural engineer visited the elderly couple's house to check the damage. The Health and Safety Executive also visited the site to investigate the incident.