A firefighter was wounded while putting out a blaze in a dumped car in Colchester.

The officer, who was drafted in from Chelmsford for last night's shift, was among firefighters called out to the fire at about 12.20am today.

While they were tackling it, he suffered a deep gash to his hand and his colleagues took him to Colchester General Hospital by fire engine.

He was bandaged and later needed stitches on the wound.

Assistant Divisional Officer Alan Rayner, of Colchester fire station, said: "The nightwatch was two firefighters short so we had one brought in from Clacton and one from Chelmsford.

"The man from Chelmsford suffered lacerations to his hand whilst dealing with a car fire at about 12.20am."

Published Tuesday, January 14, 2003

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