THE man who was electrocuted yesterday has been transferred to a specialist hospital where he remains in intensive care in a critical condition.

He was airlifted to hospital after the grab arm of a lorry he was operating touched an overhead electricity cable carrying 11,000 volts.

The man suffered extensive burns to his body and when ambulance crews arrived at the scene they found he had also suffered a heart attack.

Last night he was transferred to the Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “Crews arrived to find a metal digger, on the back of a lorry, which had reportedly made contact with live overhead power cables.

“A man, near to the lorry, believed to be in his 40s, had suffered extensive burns to his body and was in cardiac arrest.

“Crews immediately commenced Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). The man was then flown to the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch whilst air crews continued emergency treatment.

“Medics were on standby at the hospital awaiting the arrival of the man who was in a critical condition.

"Crews had to work extremely carefully whilst initially assessing and treating the man, due to concerns that the nearby lorry was conducting electricity.”

Emergency services were called to Bretforton Road, Badsey, near Evesham, at about 11.30am today.

An ambulance, emergency care practitioner, incident support officer, a senior paramedic manager and the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance were sent to the scene.

Two fire crews from Evesham were also among those in attendance.

Julian Jenkins, watch manager at Evesham Fire Station, said: “The lorry was being used to load rubble when the grab arm must have accidently touched an overhead electric cable carrying 11,000 volts.

“The man operating the lorry was severely injured by the electric shock and paramedics worked for at least half an hour to keep him alive before he was airlifted to hospital.

“Afterwards the area was made safe, but the villages of Bretforton and Badsey may have lost power for a short time.”

Police were also called to the scene, and the power providers were called to cut the electricity feed to the immediate area.

Investigations into the industrial incident have been passed to the Health and Safety Executive which also had representatives at the scene.