Derbyshire paraglider's 'lucky' landing after parachute fail

A paraglider escaped serious injury after his parachute failed and he crash landed onto a soft roofed building cushioning his fall.

The man had taken off in Derbyshire and ended up on a "large tent-like structure" in an industrial estate in the Ecclesfield area of Sheffield.

Firefighters who rescued the man said he had been"incredibly lucky".

A fire service spokesman said: "The man, in his 60s, had been taking part in a glide in Derbyshire when his chute malfunctioned forcing him to make an emergency landing. He landed on top of a large tent-like structure which is used to store salt grit. The flexible nature of the structure meant the man suffered only minor injuries."

All three emergency services worked together to help the stricken paraglider, with firefighters ultimately bring him to safety.

Fire station manager Gavin Jones said: "In 25 years firefighting I've never known of an incident like it. This was a really effective, multi-agency response and our firefighters and Control operators did an incredible job.

"The man has been incredibly lucky and I'm just so pleased we were able to bring him to safety."

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