A farmer had to be rescued from a 60ft (18m) deep sinkhole when it “swallowed” him while he was riding a quad bike.

The man was pulled out of the hole in a field near Barrow-in-Furness, south Cumbria, by firefighters on Thursday afternoon.

Ian Westall of Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service said: “The ground just fell away with the weight of the bike on that particular spot and he was swallowed up into the sinkhole.

“We peered down and could see the farmer sat up, and we could just make out the outline of his bike under a mound of earth. I’m sure he was in deep shock.”

Cumbria Police, Great North Air Ambulance Service and North West Ambulance Service were also at the scene to help firefighters haul the farmer to safety.

The opening was about 8ft (2m) wide at the top but widened below “like a wine carafe”, which posed additional risk to rescuers, Mr Westall said.

“Obviously, with unstable ground and people on the surface unsighted, there was an inherent risk,” Mr Westall said.

“We had to make sure the rescuers weren’t going to be involved in any further movement or collapse of the ground, so we widened the cordon area and had only those directly involved in the rescue at the scene.”

The man was flown to hospital where he is receiving treatment for chest injuries.

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