A FOREST manager fractured part of their foot after slipping in the snow at a forest entrance. 

The individual was forced to wear a hard cast and avoid putting weight on their ankle for six weeks. They had been setting out warning signage at the time of the incident. 

Forestry officials have issued details about the slip in a bid to encourage foresters to wear the correct footwear – which the manager was – or consider adding walking aids, like sticks, where necessary. 

An incident bulletin from Scottish Woodlands read: "Snow had been lying for a number of days with a hard frost each night.

"The forest road surface had been compacted by vehicles and refrozen.

"While walking down the slope, the manager slipped, fell and landed on their left ankle, hearing a distinctive crack. In no great pain at that point, the manager hobbled back to their car, which is an automatic, and was able to drive to a point where they could receive mobile signal. 

"They advised their colleagues of the incident, and drove themselves to the nearest A&E, which was 20 minutes away, to have the injury assessed.

"The pain had grown considerably by the time they arrived at the A&E, and the manager contacted some colleagues to help them in.

"The X-ray identified two adjacent spiral fractures to the fibula. The ankle was set in a hard cast. The manager was advice to avoid putting weight on the ankle for six weeks and to return for further assessment."

The manager was wearing high-quality safety footwear with anti-slip Vibram soles and ankle support, although the grips were showing significant signs of wear.

The attending medical professional, assessing the manager's injury, did state that although the ankle support footwear did not prevent the spiral fracture, without them, the injury would in all likelihood have been a much more serious, compound fracture.

The bulletin added: "While our walking routes around our offices and facilities can be controlled through monitoring and de-icing, such is the extent of our worksites, these cannot. 

"Staff should monitor weather conditions and forecasts and plan or reschedule their work accordingly.

"If worksites or parts of a worksite are ice and snow bound, staff should risk assess how safe it is to take access and undertake proposed work, postponing or taking additional precautions as is necessary."