A MAN was taken to hospital with suspected broken left leg after being rescued from mud flats of the River Tyne - having fallen more than 25 feet from the quayside.

A spokesperson for the Tyne & Wear Fire and Rescue Service said a man was reported trapped in the mud near the quayside edge at Pipewellgate on the Gateshead side of the River Tyne in the early hours of Monday, shortly after midnight.

The man was located between the High Level Bridge and the NE1 Pontoon.

"We dispatched a unit from Gateshead fire station and the Swiftwater rescue team, who are based at Byker. Luckily for the casualty it was low tide as he has fallen about 27 feet and has suffered only a suspected broken leg.

"A triple extension ladder was used to enable two Swiftwater technicians with a mud sled and a North East Ambulance Service Hart team member to reach him.

"He was then placed onto the mud sled and manoeuvred to the waiting fireboat and transported to the NE1 pontoon to a waiting ambulance."

A spokesperson for the North East Ambulance Service said: "We were called at six minutes past midnight on Monday to the quayside.

"A Hart team assisted in the rescue. The man was taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary by ambulance with a leg injury."