A British woman has been impaled by a beach umbrella in the US before being freed with a bolt cutter, police have confirmed.
Margaret Reynolds, 67, from London, had been at Seaside Heights on the Jersey Shore in New Jersey on Monday when a freak gust of wind whipped up the parasol.
Part of the umbrella then pierced her right ankle and was driven completely through her leg when it fell back to the ground after being blown into the air by the ‘force of the wind’.
A beach umbrella pierced the leg of British woman Margaret Reynolds, 67, from London, on a New Jersey beach. This picture of her being treated was taken by Instagram user insert4coins
Part of the umbrella pierced her right ankle and was driven completely through her leg due to the ‘force of the wind’, it was reported
Borough Police Chief Tommy Boyd said fire crews had to use a bolt cutter on the aluminum umbrella after the ‘freak accident’.
He added that the woman’s injuries ‘shocked’ his officers.
Pictures been posted on Instagram by user Ricky Z – who calls his profile ‘insert4coins’ – show fire crews and paramedics treating the woman at the scene.
Concerned beachgoers were also photographed tending to the woman before the emergency services arrived.
Ricky Z wrote: ‘Bruuuuh holy s***! This lady had an umbrella go through her leg 5 feet away from me!
‘There was a strong gust of wind, there were a couple umbrellas flying. One of the corners of a random one went THROUGH HER F****** LEG! That could have been me!’
Chief Boyd added: ‘It was a windy day. There was a strong southeasterly wind blowing and it was windy on the beach. Somebody’s umbrella wasn’t attached properly and it blew out.
‘The steel part went through her right ankle. It was the spoke of the umbrella. It went right through her and we cut it out with bolt cutters.
‘It went from one side directly through the other side. It was a clean cut.
‘You don’t want to pull it out so we had the deputy fire chief cut it with bolt cutters and she was taken to Jersey Shore Medical Center. Any umbrella in the strong wind is dangerous when it isn’t attached properly.
‘I understand the woman is doing well. She had the part removed and I don’t believe she has any long-standing injuries. It was a freak accident. I have been here 34 years and chief 16 and I have never seen a parasol go through like that.
Seaside Heights is a well-known seaside town in New Jersey that boasts a historic boardwalk
‘It was a shock for my team. My younger police officers, to see somebody impaled like that threw them off. It shocked them.’
He explained that the woman was on holiday from London and was with her family on the beach.
According to the NJ Weather Network, Seaside Heights was the windiest place in New Jersey yesterday.
It experienced winds of up to 28 mph.
Seaside Heights is a well-known seaside town in New Jersey that boasts a historic boardwalk.
It was made famous the world over by MTV’s reality TV show Jersey Shore.
Widespread rain and storms are set to hit New Jersey today.