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A railway worker had to be airlifted to hospital after breaking his leg in a tunnel.

Network Rail was carrying out routine engineering works on the Great Malvern to Hereford line when the man got trapped between heavy machinery and the wall of the tunnel at The Homend, Ledbury, at 11am, today.

The man, in his forties and from south Wales, could only be reached with help from specialist equipment from West Midlands Ambulance Service^s hazardous area response team.

^He was working in the tunnel when he became trapped between a piece of machinery and the wall of the tunnel,^ an ambulance service spokesman said. ^Medical crews were able to get to the patient. He was taken out of the tunnel along the railway line with the use of an excavation stretcher and trailer.^

He was treated for a fractured right ankle and flown by Midlands Air Ambulance to Hereford County Hospital.

As a result of the engineering works and the accident, trains services between Wales and Worcester have been disrupted, with replacement bus services having to be laid on between Hereford and Worcester Shrub Hill stations.

Passengers using the First Great Western service were advised of ^short notice alterations and delays^ yesterday, following the accident.