A MAN who plunged 40ft through the skylight of an indoor market had fallen from a flat, it emerged yesterday.

The 28-year-old man, who has not been named, is believed to have lost his balance while sitting on a window ledge at his girlfriend's flat, in the centre of Newcastle, on Sunday evening.

He smashed through a reinforced glass skylight at the Grainger Market, and on to the concrete floor.

The man, from the South Tyneside area, suffered broken legs and elbows, and a broken kneecap, pelvis and jaw.

He was taken to Newcastle General Hospital after firefighters cut through security gates to reach him.

Police believe he had been sitting on the window ledge when he toppled forward. It is thought that breaking through the skylight might have slowed his fall just enough to save his life.

A spokesman for Northumbria Police said: "There is no indication of any foul play.

"He appears to have been quite lucky to survive."