A BT engineer from Faringdon is recovering in hospital after falling 25ft down a shaft on the Ridgeway.

The man was working in the Fox Hill area of Wanborough, near Swindon, when he plunged into a disused underground reservoir yesterday afternoon.

The 36-year-old, who has not been named, managed to use his mobile phone to raise the alarm, despite suffering leg and shoulder injuries.

Members of the Mountain Rescue team worked alongside 20 firefighters to winch out the injured 36-year-old. The Wiltshire Air Ambulance was also sent to the scene.

The engineer had been working on a mast near the Ridgeway when he fell down the hole, which was covered in undergrowth.

He was using a piece of equipment to track an underground telephone line when the ground gave way.

The engineer fell down the manhole into a concrete tank measuring 33ft wide by 82ft high. Following his rescue, he was taken to the Great Western Hospital in Swindon.

BT spokesman Chris Orum said: "It's quite a nasty fall and his family have been contacted. He was walking along and the ground gave way beneath him."