Bryan Ferry's champagne toast over son's Shropshire rescue

Merlin Ferry was involved in a horror smash with two other cars on the A458 near Cressage just before Christmas last year.

Firefighters at Wellington fire station worked for more than an hour along with three other crews to cut Merlin free from the mangled wreckage of his silver Volvo.

Craig Jackson, watch manager at Wellington fire station, said the crew received 12 bottles of the champagne, thought to be worth between £25 and £30 each, from the Roxy Music star shortly after the accident.

He said eight of the bottles would be raffle prizes in an open day due to be held at Wellington fire station.

The other four will go on display at each of the stations involved in dealing with the accident - Wellington, Shrewsbury, Much Wenlock and Bridgnorth.

"We received the champagne along with a small thank you note from Bryan and his family shortly after the accident, and we have hung onto them since while we worked what we wanted to do with them.

"I was one of the firefighters on scene and it was a very nasty accident.

"I know Merlin has got life-changing injuries but he was very lucky to be alive, it was such a heavy impact.

"I don't know about it being one of the worst accidents we have attended but it was certainly one of the most challenging in terms of cutting him free.

"Because of the extent of damage to the car, it took us more than an hour.

"I understand he is in recovery, living with his mother somewhere in Shropshire, and we wish him all the best."

Bryan Ferry used his appearance on the Jonathan Ross Show earlier this year to thank the emergency services who saved his son's life.

The 69-year-old star said he was devastated when he received a call in December telling him that his 24-year-old son had been seriously injured in the accident.

Speaking during an interview on the show, which went out in March, Ferry said firefighters and paramedics in Shropshire had provided "world class care" for his son at the scene of the accident.

He said it was "the worst thing" a parent could imagine happening to one of their children.

Merlin was initially described as critically ill, but has made a slow recovery after intensive treatment at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham and tweeted a picture of himself walking with crutches.

Ferry told Ross: "Merlin was in this head-on collision and thanks first to the firemen in Shropshire and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital doctors and nurses he's making an amazing recovery."

Merlin is one of four sons the Roxy Music star has with his ex-wife, former model Lucy Helmore.

Speaking about the crash being so close to Christmas, Ferry added: "It was that time of year when you want to celebrate and so it was a pretty dark time for us."

The musician also posted a heartfelt message on Facebook, thanking fans all for "the kind messages of support".

Members of the crew from Wellington Fire Station were among the first members of emergency services to attend the scene of the accident, which happened on December 22 last year.

Two ambulances, a paramedic, a trauma doctor and the crew from the Midlands Air Ambulance also attended the scene.

Merlin suffered multiple fractures to his legs, pelvis, left arm and had a head injury.He had been driving in a silver Volvo when he was involved in the accident. One of the other vehicles in the tangled wreck had burst in flames while Merlin was still trapped in his car, but a passer-by was able to quickly put out the dangerous blaze.

It took more than an hour to free Merlin from the wreckage before he was taken by ambulance to the major trauma centre at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Otis, who is master of the South Shropshire Hunt, also thanked firefighters for freeing his brother from the wreck and praised the work of hospital staff.

He wrote on Twitter: "Thank you for extracting my brother alive from what looks like a mangled box of tin."

Merlin had been travelling along the A458 about half a mile north-west of the village of Cressage, near Shrewsbury, at the time of the collision.

His car and a red Mercedes, which was travelling in the opposite direction, had collided head-on at around 6.40pm.

The 49-year-old Mercedes driver from Kidderminster escaped with minor injuries.

A third vehicle, a Scania lorry, which was travelling in the same direction as the Mercedes, was also involved but little damage was caused to it.

The driver was uninjured.

Paramedics at the scene described their shock at the damage to the cars, describing the "massive damage" to the car.