A farm worker has had to have his foot cut off after becoming tangled in a pumpkin-pulping machine.

John Terpstra, 29, was using the heavy machinery to gather and crush the fruit, which is in peak season, when his right leg became caught in the works.

Firefighters fought to free him from the equipment and Mr Terpstra, from Midhurst, was rushed to hospital.

But friends said his leg was too badly injured and surgeons were forced to amputate his foot after the accident on Thursday.

An investigation into the incident at Crows Hall Farm, near Chichester, has now been launched by the Health and Safety Executive.