A man went to sleep at the top of an 80ft high cliff - and then dropped off.

Miraculously the countryside worker, who has not been named, survived the plunge.

In the bizarre accident on the Isle of Wight a member of the public had spotted the man asleep at the top of the cliffs.

He tried to wake him but when he could not, went off to get some assistance.

But when he returned the man, who is in his 30s, had fallen over the edge.

He suffered serious head injuries after he was found at the bottom of cliffs at Atherfield, in the south west of the island.

Today he is in a serious but stable condition at St Mary's Hospital at Newport.

Police described the incident as a "horrible accident".

"He is certainly very lucky to be alive," said a Newport police spokesman.

The alarm was raised at 8.15am after the injured man was spotted lying at the bottom of the cliffs.

A police spokesman said: "The man appeared to have been sleeping close to the cliff edge. A short while later he was seen at the bottom of the cliff by a member of the public."

The man was rescued by the Coastguard helicopter from Lee-on-Solent, after land-based teams had assessed his condition. Paramedics also attended the scene with cliff rescue volunteers from the Needles and Ventnor.

He was airlifted from below the cliff to St Mary's Hospital, Newport, for treatment. The rescue operation took about two hours.

Coastguard watch manager, Bob Terry, said: "The man is now in hospital receiving treatment for his head injuries. At the moment we do not have any information on him."

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