A pensioner was impaled on his shower after slipping in the bath.
The 84-year-old fell heavily on to the shower pole, which speared his armpit.
The man, who also received 20% burns to his back and arms from the scalding water, was airlifted to hospital in Brighton.
Emergency services were called to a house in Biner Road, Partridge Green, near Horsham at about 10.30am yesterday after a neighbour had raised the alarm.
The man, who lives alone, told fire crews he had been calling for help for an hour before he attracted the neighbour’s attention.
Joe Bullingham, watch manager at Partridge Green fire station said: “It was quite gruesome. He was in a lot of pain both with his armpit and because we couldn’t turn the hot water off because the tap was inside him.
“We had to wait until the ambulances arrived because we don’t want to do anything that could cause him discomfort.
“Eventually we managed to cut him free and he was taken away by the air ambulance.
“He was incredibly brave. He was in tremendous pain and had a bathroom full of firemen.”
It took two hours for crews to free the man who was then treated by South East Coast ambulance crews and Sussex Air Ambulance.
Last night he was being treated at Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.
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