The Health and Safety Executive is to investigate an incident in Chirton on Monday when the wall of a house collapsed, injuring three workers.

The accident took place at 8.45am when specialist contractor Simon Jones and two of his employees were working on the wall at Plummer’s Farm in Patney Road.

Two of the builders, who have not been named, suffered crush injuries when the masonry fell on them.

First on the scene was Dave Wilmot, the ambulance control room manager at Devizes, a trained paramedic who intercepted the 999 call as he was passing the scene.

He said: “One man was lying close to an unstable wall. There was no masonry on top of him. Whether it had been moved before I arrived I don’t know.

“But I decided I would need to do a snatch rescue and move him out of the way before any more of the building collapsed.

“Two of the builders suffered crush injuries. The most serious of them was put onto a spinal board and the other man suffered more minor injuries.

“They were incredibly lucky. It could have been so much worse. We asked each of them to give us two numbers so we could do the lottery at the weekend.”

Although the Wiltshire Air Ambulance was summoned, it was felt that it was all right for both men to be taken to Salisbury District Hospital by road ambulance. Simon Jones, who runs Simon Jones Restoration and Redesign from East Kennett, near Marlborough, received minor injuries.

He said: “The lad who is in hospital is making good progress. I was slightly injured. I am all right, though.

“I have been advised by my solicitor not to make any statement, but I would like to pay tribute to the emergency services who turned up.

“Everything they did for us was fantastic.”

Neighbour Maria Comer, who lives across the road from Plummer’s Farm, said: “I heard this terrible noise of bricks falling and then men screaming for help. It made me feel sick. It’s a relief that no one’s been killed.

“No one has lived at that house for a couple of years. They seem to have been doing it up for the longest time.”

The owners of the property, who live in the Pewsey area, did not wish to comment.