A 21-year-old man was airlifted to hospital by the Essex Air Ambulance after falling 20ft from a roof in South Woodham Ferrers.

The man, who has not been named, was taken to Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, with head injuries.

The accident happened at 12.14pm on Tuesday. Police said that the man was believed to have climbed on to the roof of a warehouse in Cutlers Road to retrieve a football, and fallen through.

Shocked colleagues at Sunflair, a camping and caravan equipment distributor, rallied round. An Essex Ambulance Service spokesman said: "We gave advice over the phone as to what to do, such as not to move him and watch his breathing.

"We sent our helicopter and land vehicle, and the helicopter arrived within six minutes of receiving the call.

"The patient was unconscious and was treated at the scene by paramedics before being flown to Broomfield. The hospital had been put on alert and was waiting to receive him."

Warehouse distribution manager Ray Cable said that the helicopter landed at Saltcoats Park to allow medical crew off before landing again at the William de Ferrers School field.

He said: "It has shaken everyone up. The lads from the warehouse went to hospital to visit him later. He is conscious and has sustained one or two fractures."

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