A WORCESTER man who needed ten stitches in his face after falling over in a city car park has praised staff at Worcestershire Royal Hospital.

Malcolm Jeffs was helping a woman to her car at about 9pm at on Wednesday, March 25 after a beekeeping class at Worcester Woods Country Park when he suffered the accident.

But the 73-year-old of Park View Terrace in Barbourne said when he stepped out of the building he found all the lights were off in the car park, making it very difficult to see.

“We couldn’t see a thing,” he said. “It was pitch black.

“Because it was so dark I fell over a speed bump and smashed my face.”

He said he had called an ambulance, which arrived quickly but was initially unable to get into the site as the gates were closed, and arrived at Worcestershire Royal Hospital at about 9.30pm.

“Yes, I was in a corridor, but it was only for about five or ten minutes,” he said.

“After that I was wheeled into a cubicle and they all looked after me.

“I saw doctors, nurses and a facial surgeon and they all took care of me.”

After having ten stitches in his face, leaving him “looking like I’ve done six rounds with Tyson” as he put it, Mr Jeffs he sent home at 12.30am after just three hours in hospital.

Although the A&E at Worcestershire Royal Hospital has been under serious strain over recent weeks and months, leading to long waiting times and an ever-increasing backlog of elective operations, Mr Jeffs said he could not be happier with the care he was given.

“I know they’re overworked but they’re all working so hard,” he said.

“The one girl who treated me was on her fifth night in a row – she said she normally only does three.

“It’s just fantastic.”

He added he was due to have the stitches out on Monday, March 30 but had broken his glasses in the fall and was considering sueing the council.

A Worcestershire County Council spokesman said: "This incident has been reported to us and we are presently looking into it. We would like to wish the gentleman a speedy recovery."