THE lorry driver trapped after a freak warehouse accident in Poole has praised his rescuers.

Grandfather-of-six Arthur Robinson says the paramedics, firefighters and everyone at Dorset Glass – where he was delivering a 26-tonne shipment of glass when the drama unfolded – were “absolutely brilliant, I cannot thank them all enough”.

The 58-year-old spoke to the Daily Echo from his Doncaster home, where he is recovering from a severely bruised back.

“I’m in agony with my back, but it could have been a lot worse,” he said.

“I was trapped in the back of the lorry’s trailer for three hours and I wasn’t sure if I had done permanent damage – but the doctors at Poole Hospital told me I hadn’t broken my back.

“There was a lady paramedic, called Julie, who stayed with me in the trailer. She was absolutely amazing. I’d really like to thank her and everyone else.

“I managed to phone the fire brigade and Dorset Glass to thank them in person, but I couldn’t contact the paramedics.”

Arthur’s day took an unusual turn shortly after he arrived at the Nuffield Industrial Estate company on Monday lunchtime.

“I was delivering the glass,” he explained. “We have specially designed trailers to carry these loads. I was carrying nine packs of glass, totalling around 26 tonnes.”

Part of the equipment which secures the panes in transit became stuck.

Arthur said: “So I went into the back to free it up, and with the help of a Dorset Glass worker we did this no problem. I was backing up out of the trailer when I slipped, simple as that. It was just one of those things.

“There’s not much room to move back there, it’s only about a foot wide. I was trapped behind the safety stop on the load and the bulkhead of the trailer, half on my back, half on my side. I was just wedged in there.”

Firefighters were eventually able to free Arthur using hydraulic equipment.