TWO Hampshire firefighters have mysteriously fallen ill just hours after saving a man who plunged 30ft down a well.

The two colleagues were among crews staging the dramatic rescue of an injured man found in water at the bottom of a well in Linford Green in the New Forest.

The 61-year-old man was hoisted to safety and rushed to Southampton General Hospital for treatment for a shoulder injury and later released.

Now two firefighters are understood to have been struck down with illness just hours after finishing their shift. Last night the pair were reportedly suffering symptoms including diarrhoea, vomiting and high temperatures.

As the Daily Echo went to print it was too early to tell whether their condition is linked to anything they inhaled or touched while at the well. It is also not known whether the injured man is complaining of the same symptoms.

A spokesman for Hampshire Fire and Rescue said he was unable to confirm whether colleagues were yesterday off sick from work.

Dramatic pictures released by the fire service show the moment that Hampshire and Dorset crews launched the rescue at the well situated inside a barn.

At least 12 firefighters from Ringwood, Ferndown and Redbridge in Southampton were called there at 5.50pm on Tuesday after the man fell into water below.

They discovered he was unable to swim and immediately lowered a life jacket to keep him afloat and avoid a risk of drowning.

Crews set up a rope and lowered a firefighter down into the hole which measured 2.5m in diameter.

A member of the Hampshire Urban Search and Rescue was on hand to provided advice to colleagues.

The injured man was eventually put into a harness and slowly lifted to safety.

He was treated at the scene by paramedics from South Central Ambulance Service before being taken to hospital by ambulance.

A spokesman for the South Central Ambulance Service said: “A male believed to be in his 60s was treated at the scene.

“He was conveyed to Southampton General Hospital with a suspected shoulder injury.”

It is not known what the man was doing in the moment before he fell into the well, or how deep the water below is.

Greg Garrett, the brigade’s station manager in charge of the incident, said: “This was an unusual incident where the quick and effective partnership working between firefighters and the ambulance service aided the successful rescue of the man.

“We are extremely pleased that, after falling such a long way down the well, the man has now been released from hospital and is recovering well at home.”