A MAN is in hospital with a crushed heel bone and a broken foot after falling 20 feet from a ladder in Rayleigh this morning.

The ambulance service were called at 10am this morning following a report of 55-year-old John Walsh falling from a ladder at his mother's house in Bull Lane.

A rapid response vehicle was sent, arriving on the scene in four minutes, followed by a land ambulance at the Hertfordshire Air Ambulance.

A spokesperson from the ambulance service said: "The man was believed to have been right at the top of the ladder when he fell, so it was quite a big fall.

"The critical care team assessed the man, but fortunately his injuries did not appear to be life-threatening.

"He was taken by land ambulance to Southend Hospital."