A NORTH Yorkshire man slipped in his back garden and ended up with a metal spike through his cheek.

The 41-year-old man was impaled through the face and was unable to move, according to a North Yorkshire Fire Service spokesman.

Paramedics were holding the man up to relieve the pressure on the spike when fire crews arrived. Together they lifted the man free from the spike and he was taken to Harrogate District Hospital for treatment.

The incident happened yesterday at a house in Byland Grove, Harrogate.

The Fire Service spokesman said: "The ambulance crew there were holding him up to release the pressure on this spike. It was a barbecue grill spike that had gone into his face, he fell on it and he was wedged against the wall with one spike in his face.

"They couldn't cut the metal out because it had twisted round into his face so he was pulled off the spike."

Updated: 10:27 Thursday, May 22, 2003