He managed over 20 miles in the air (Picture: Google)

A paraglider in his sixties had a lucky escape after his parachute failed and he was forced to make an emergency landing on a ‘springy’ Sheffield roof.

The man had taken off in Derbyshire and made the makeshift landing in Sheffield, more 20 miles away.

He had managed to land on a ‘soft and flexible roof structure’, which cushioned his fall, YorkshireLive reports.

The man was ‘extremely lucky’, said firefighters who attended the scene.

A fire service spokesman said: ‘Crews from Stocksbridge and Parkway fire stations worked alongside ambulance and police colleagues to rescue a man whose parachute had failed from the roof of a structure in Ecclesfield Industrial Estate.

‘The man, in his 60s, had been taking part in a glide in Derbyshire when his chute malfunctioned forcing him to make an emergency landing.

‘He landed on top of a large tent-like structure which is used to store salt grit. The flexible nature of the structure meant the man suffered only minor injuries.’

The fire station manager Gavin Jones said he had ‘never known an incident like it’ in the 25 years he has been firefighting.

‘The man has been incredibly lucky and I’m just so pleased we were able to bring him to safety,’ he added.

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