Boater Richard Gray came to the aid of the West Midlands Ambulance Service paramedics as they treated a casualty near to Boggs Lock on the Staffordshire and Worcester Canal.

Paramedics were called out to the Staffordshire and Worcester Canal near Boggs Lock in Gailey after a boater injured his leg.

West Midlands Ambulance Service staff had to walk around a mile along the towpath to reach the man, who was unable to walk.

Faced with a dilemma of how to get the patient back to the ambulance, the paramedics were offered a lift back up the canal by Richard Gray, who works for the Birmingham and Midland Marine Service.

The company offers commercials and leisure services on the area’s inland waterways.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “The crew parked as close as possible to the patient but still faced a walk of about a mile down the towpath, carrying their equipment with them.”

“Once with the patient, a man thought to be in his 60s, they assessed him and treated him for a leg injury, on which he was unable to apply weight,” explained the spokesman.

Ambulance staff assisted the man onto the Birmingham and Midland Marine Service narrowboat before “cruising up the canal back towards where the ambulance was parked.”

The casualty was then moved onto a stretcher and carried back to the ambulance before being transported to County Hospital, Stafford.

“This was certainly one of the more unusual jobs for our staff to come across and thanks go to Richard for his assistance in helping the patient on to the back of the ambulance as quickly as possible,” added the spokesman.