Air ambulance lands on soccer pitch (From Bridport and Lyme Regis News)

Air ambulance lands on soccer pitch

5:54pm Saturday 28th April 2012 in National News © Press Association 2013

A non-league football ground was cleared of fans to allow an air ambulance to land on the pitch to fly an injured player to hospital.

Kidderminster Harriers striker Anthony Malbon was airlifted to Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital after being knocked unconscious during the Blue Square Premier fixture against Mansfield Town at Aggborough.

In a statement issued on Kidderminster's official website, the club said Malbon, 20, was talking to those treating him as he was taken to hospital.

The statement read: "Harriers are pleased to be able to say that striker Anthony Malbon was awake and speaking to those around him as he was airlifted to hospital.

"Malbon was stretchered off in the 3-0 defeat to Mansfield but was said to be aware of his surroundings and even the score of the game at the point of his injury as he was carried into the air ambulance, which had landed on the Aggborough turf."

Confirming that a player had been airlifted at the end of the match, a spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance Service said: "An ambulance arrived at the scene and took over treatment of the player who had received first aid from medics at the stadium and had regained consciousness.

"Due to the nature of the man's head injuries, the Midlands Air Ambulance was called to the scene.

"The man's condition was stabilised and he was airlifted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham for further assessment and specialist treatment."

The hospital had been pre-alerted to the player's arrival and the nature of his injuries, the spokesman added.