Teen critical after farm accident

The youth was brought to Antrim Area Hospital by police helicopter

A 16-year-old youth is in a critical condition in hospital following a farm accident in County Antrim.

The teenager is said have numerous injuries to his upper body following an incident in a field at Liberty Road in Carrickfergus.

He was brought to Antrim Area Hospital by police helicopter and later moved to Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital.

It is thought the accident involved farm machinery. Paramedics travelled with the youth in the helicopter.

It was the first time the police helicopter had been used to take a casualty to hospital.

The head of the Police Air Support Unit, Inspector Roger McConnell, said a doctor requested a helicopter which was at the scene in 17 minutes.

"We can only do this in extreme circumstances where there is no other option," he said.

"In this case, an ambulance could not get to the scene easily and it was a very seriously ill casualty, so therefore the helicopter was a very obvious choice.

"It was considered such a serious situation that the doctor asked that herself and a paramedic travel on board the helicopter.

"It involved us having to off-load some of the crew to facilitate that, but the situation was so serious that's exactly what we did."