A man was taken to hospital with head injuries after an NHS sign asking people if they were "feeling under the weather" was ripped down by violent winds and came crashing on top of him.

Gale-force winds pulled the heavy 15ft by 30ft NHS sign, which advised people to see their GP if they were feeling unwell, from the top of a building in Leicester yesterday afternoon.

First aider Nick Pridden was on the scene when the solid wooden board was blown on top of the unidentified man, believed to be aged in his 40s or 50s. He told The Leicester Mercury: "He'd gone into the chemist to tell them the sign was flapping about and came out to look at it with the owner.

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"As the two of them were standing there it came down and hit him – it missed her by inches. She was very shaken afterwards and very lucky, too.

"He had a nasty gash on his head and was treated by paramedics and taken to the Leicester Royal Infirmary."

The man's condition remains unknown.

The incident follows a series of freak weather events as stormy conditions continue to wreck havoc across Britain. Storms, floods and gales were followed by a slightly more unusual 'bog fire' in Borth bog, Aberystwyth this morning.