FIREFIGHTERS battled for two hours to free an elderly man who became trapped in a hole in his garden.

The 83-year-old escaped with minor injuries after plunging around 18 feet into an excavation pit at his home in Eshiels on Monday.

Two appliances from Peebles raced to the scene and were joined by specialist teams from Edinburgh.

There were fears that the excavation site where the man was stricken could collapse, trapping him and firefighters.

The fire services worked closely with colleagues from the Scottish Ambulance Service during the operation.

Upon arrival fire crews found the casualty lying in a newly dug excavation approximately six metres below the ground.

The Incident Commander requested the attendance of a specialist fire service line rescue team in order to safely rescue the casualty.

While awaiting the arrival of the line rescue team the crews at the scene used working at height skills and a combination of ropes and ladders to descend into the excavation to reassure and provide first aid to the casualty.

Two line rescue teams from Newcraighall along with a pump and the aerial rescue platform from Tollcross joined in the salvage operation.

Firefighters ensured that the excavation was as stable as possible to prevent any possibility of a collapse of the earth surrounding the area.

A spokesman for the fire service said: “Some work was going on in this garden and it appears the man somehow fell in and was unable to get himself out.

“We used a vertical stretch rescue and four members of personnel had to help him up. He was taken to the minor injuries unit at Borders General Hospital as a precaution.” Group manager Alan Horbury, who was at the scene, told the Peeblesshire News: “The crews did an excellent job because had this collapsed then it could have caused further injuries and even trapped the casualty and firefighters.

“Conditions within the excavation were relatively stable but collapse could not be ruled out.” A spokesman for the ambulance service confirmed that the man had remained in a calm state throughout his ordeal.

“This was one of our more unusual jobs but fortunately the man was relatively unscathed,” he said.

“The paramedics were able to speak to the patient and he was not in a distressed state.”