AN ANGLER fell through a jetty and plunged 20ft down a pipe last night.

The jetty at Beach Road, Skinningrove, near Saltburn, East Cleveland, was believed to have collapsed beneath the man, in his mid forties.

He plunged down into the pipe and suffered a fractured leg and head injuries.

The man was rescued by fire-fighters, after a joint operation also involving the coastguard, police and ambulance services.

Emergency services were called to the scene just after 10pm.

A coastguard spokesman said: "At first it was thought he could have fallen into the water.

"We then found he had fallen into a pipe that was part of an old cooling water system for the steel works and had fallen 20ft.

"They had quite a job getting him out."

A Cleveland Police spokesman said: "He has been on the jetty and it has given way."

The man was placed on a spinal board before firefighters used ropes to pull hoist him to safety.

He was taken by ambulance to the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.