An engineer escaped death by inches when a half-ton lift hurtled 30ft towards him.

John Coan, of Keighley, was working at the base of the lift shaft when the 5ft wide lift plunged three floors.

But it jolted to a halt just three feet from the ground when it hit a pair of step-ladders on which Mr Coan had been working.

Firemen and witnesses said Mr Coan - who suffered head and back injuries - was lucky to be alive after the accident at the DSS offices in Peterlee, County Durham.

Assistant divisional officer Bill Harrison said: "It is believed the cables were cut by the man below the carriage before it had been secured.

"Had the step ladders not been there, we would have had a much worse accident. He has been incredibly lucky."

A DSS staff member, Mike Wharton, said: "I realised the lift had crushed down on the lad. I thought that would be the end of him. He's lucky to be alive."

Mr Wharton was at the scene within minutes and saw Mr Coan lifted to safety. He said: "He's been bloody lucky. If he had been a little taller and if those ladders were smaller he would not be here today, it's as simple as that."

As Mr Coan recovered in hospital with his parents at his bedside, firemen revealed how they used a hydraulic jack to make the lift stable. They then rigged up a block and pulley to pull it away from the twisted wreckage of the ladder and ease Mr Coan to safety.

Firefighters from County Durham spent three-quarters of an hour battling to free the former Keighley Holy Family School pupil from beneath the 25 year-old lift

Mr Coan, who lives at Lee Court, Thwaites Brow, Keighley, with his parents Jack and Joan, works for Bradford firm R E Ropes. He was taken to Hartlepool Hospital before being transferred to Darlington Hospital where he is said to be "comfortable".

Durham firefighters believe Mr Coan, who was at the bottom of the shaft, cut the ropes sending the lift crashing down. He was knocked off the ladder into the shaft.

He said Mr Coan and a colleague at the top of the lift shaft, were carrying out routine maintenance. The ropes were being changed by the sub-contractor.

Fifty staff work in the building and some were on their lunch break when the accident happened.

The Health and Safety Executive are investigating the accident.

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