A MAN had to be freed by firefighters after his right hand became trapped in a machine.

Firefighters spent about 45 minutes dismantling the machinery, at Damart in Steeton, to release the man.

He was taken by ambulance to hospital with an injury described as serious, but not life-changing.

Fire crews from Keighley and Silsden were called to the Station Road site just before 3am today.

A technical rescue appliance from Cleckheaton also attended.

The man, who is in his 20s, was conscious and able to speak to paramedics and firefighters.

"When we arrived the ambulance team was administering pain relief," said Keighley fire service watch commander, Jon Macdonald.

"The man had his hand caught in rollers. He had managed to activate the emergency stop button, but was unable to release himself.

"We removed panels to access the rollers and were then able to free his hand.

"He was in a lot of pain, but could talk to us throughout."

Damart, a home-shopping company whose head office is at Bingley, said it had launched an investigation into the circumstances of the incident.

A spokesman said: "Following an incident at our Steeton warehouse early this morning, one of our colleagues was taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary where he is now being treated for injuries to his fingers.

"We are currently carrying out a formal investigation into what happened."