Kent lifeboat crews were called after a casualty broke their leg and got trapped on board a vessel.

Gravesend

RNLI was sent to the cargo ship on the River Thames, near Grays, Essex after the crew member suffered an injury at around 6.30pm yesterday.

The lifeboat crew located the Ro-Ro Cargo vessel and two members climbed a ladder to get to the casualty.

The crew member had got trapped and caught in a heavy industrial-grade winch system that assists the vessel with the retrieval of ropes that moor the 49166-ton vessel to the jetty.

The RNLI crew provided casualty care treatment and monitored the crew member before leaving the scene at 7.45pm.

Volunteer crew member Ashley Bard said: “We were first to arrive on the scene and it was clear to see the casualty was in discomfort and had an obvious fracture to their lower right leg.

“We carried out a full casualty care assessment to ensure there were no additional injuries to be aware of and then continued to treat the affected area and plan the safe and swift evacuation of the patient.

“The pain scale was initially on the higher side and continued to increase once the casualty’s adrenaline wore off.

“It was at that point my fellow crew prepared the pain relief, and the pain level dropped significantly.

“This made the casualty more comfortable and assisted with the movement from the ship to the ambulance once it arrived on scene.”

Duty commander Liam Sidders added: “Thankfully this scenario is something we train for regularly, my crew acted exactly as expected and provided the top-quality service that the charity offers.”