A 39-Year-old man was seriously injured after falling 20 feet through the roof of an old barn in Tyldesley on Monday.

The self-employed man, who has not been named, was working on dismantling the asbestos roof of the barn in Parr Bridge Farm, Mosley Common Road, owned by scrap metal merchants Maxilead.

Suddenly it gave way and he fell to the floor.

He was rushed to Hope Hospital suffering from head, shoulder and chest injuries. He was not thought to be in any danger.

Police and paramedics were called to the scene and the accident has been reported to the health and safety executive.

Derek Anthony, a leading ambulance paramedic, said: "We used a survival collar and a special scoop stretcher because there was a possibility the man could have suffered a spinal injury after such a serious fall."

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