A Macclesfield man who fell and became impaled on railings is lucky to be alive after being just inches away from piercing his head with another spike.

Doctors say Wes Schofield, 29, cheated death after he was stuck for more than 40 minutes on the long point which punctured his leg.

Neighbours rushed to the rescue to hold Wes up after accident next to Crompton Road Mill, Crompton Road, just yards from his Pownall Square home, after a loud scream echoed down the street.

Waiting for the emergency services to arrive on Sunday (May 2), joiner Wes, who currently works at M&S, was unable to move on the railings, with a deadly spike slicing his neck, inches from a possible puncture wound.

He said: "It’s all a blur but the path down is quite gravelly and I slipped and landed on the railings – they are only about knee-high. When I saw my leg all sorts of things were going through my mind but before I knew it there were a lot of people helping who lived down the road. I do feel lucky, it was quite scary at the time."

Ambulance and firefighters were scrambled to the scene at 8.38pm freeing Wes at 9.13pm before he was rushed off to hospital.

He was patched up on Monday (May 3) and was recovering at home on Tuesday with loved ones.

Mum Jan Schofield, 48, said: "He lives here with his partner and she phoned my mobile at 8.45pm, I got here as soon as I could. I didn’t know what happened at the time because I was just told an accident but I don’t want to tell you what was going through my mind. When I found out he was going to be okay, I was so relieved."

Both mum and son are now determined to stop the same mistake happening again and they want the railings torn down and replaced.

Wes said: "You see kids playing down there all the time, what if it had been one of them? They’re dangerous so we want to find out whose responsibility it is and do something about it."

Jan added: "Something needs to be done. You can take them down although there would be a big drop, but they are certainly dangerous and something needs to be done."

An ambulance and a rapid response vehicle were sent to the scene as well as a team of firefighters from Macclesfield’s White Watch.

A North West Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: "We received a call saying a male had fallen on railings through his leg. A trained nurse was on site to look after the patient. He was impaled by an inch and half and once freed, taken to Macclesfield Hospital."