A MAN was rescued and rushed to hospital after he fell 25 metres into a ditch after his tractor overturned.

Dorset Fire and Rescue Service was called to the incident shortly after 10.21pm last night at South Bowood near Bridport, by the ambulance service.

The man had fallen into the ditch after the tractor he was driving rolled down a steep hill near Waytown, throwing the man from the can into the ditch.

The tractor then overturned.

Three crews from Bridport, Beaminster and a specialist crew from Weymouth attended the incident and confirmed one male casualty was roughly 25 metres down.

Crews made the area safe before climbing down into the ditch using a basket stretcher, reeve sleeves, a long board and a working safety line.

Firefighters rescued the man and removed him from the ditch, before taking him up a hill to waiting paramedics.

He was treated at the scene and then taken to hospital by ambulance.

Dorset Police said it is believed the man, believed to be in his 60s, had been in the ditch for some time.

A spokesman for the service said the man’s injuries were not believed to be life threatening. No road closures were put in place and the incident was handed over to the fire and ambulance crews.

A spokesman for the ambulance service said they took the man to Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester in a land ambulance.

He said: “We were called at 10.03pm. It looks like the tractor rolled and the man came out of the tractor.

“He was breathing and conscious at the scene. He had fallen down a bank. He had a head injury, neck injury and back injury.

“It is not believed the injuries are serious or life threatening.”