A 40-year-old British man crushed between a forklift and a load of large tyres surprised paramedics with his minor injuries.

The Echo reported the man had been at the back of a truck unloading tyres about eight feet in diameter. A forklift carrying the same tyres sandwiched him against tyres in the truck.

He was freed when the forklift operator realised what had happened.

An emergency medical technician said the man may have fractured some ribs but had no other injuries.