A MAN impaled on railings had to be cut free by firefighters. The party-goer lost his keys and was trying to climb through a window into his home in The Terrace, Rochester, when he slipped.

Sub-officer Ian Crouch, of Strood fire station, said: "Two spikes went through his upper leg. We used hydraulic cutting gear to cut away the railings around him, but because there was a basement below the only way we could get to him was via a ladder and using the neighbouring stairs.

"Once we cut the railings away, we lifted him on to the stretcher with parts of the railings still in him. The railings wouldn't have been removed until the man was in theatre."

The 24-year-old returned home just after 3am on Sunday. His brother and girlfriend heard his cries and dialled 999.

Nine firefighters from Strood and Medway and four paramedics supported the man and comforted him as the railings were cut away. "He was pretty calm and only when the railings came away with a jolt did he let us know that it hurt," said Sub-officer Crouch.