A workman who was trapped for seven hours when the trench he was digging caved in said last night: "I thought I'd had it."

Peter Thompson, 38, expected to return to work today, just three days after his ordeal.

The JCB driver from Hailsham had climbed down into the 12ft trench in St Helens Road, Hastings, to pick up some sheeting when the walls collapsed.

Firefighters spent seven hours painstakingly working to free Mr Thompson's foot, which was stuck under a pipe.

He said: "I tried to push out the soil as much as possible so I didn't get squeezed to death. I don't know if a smaller bloke would have made it.

"I thought I'd had it when I saw the soil falling down on me. If it was not for the firemen I would have died."

Throughout the rescue, Mr Thompson said small doses of morphine mixed with water passed down to him in a syringe by paramedics helped him to stay calm.

He said: "I panicked about twice and kept asking how long it would be until they got me out, I couldn't think about anything else, but I knew they would save me."

The team of 25 firefighters finally pulled Mr Thompson to safety by putting ropes under his body and lifting him out.

The rescue team had refused to change shifts until they got him out.

Amazingly, the only injury Mr Thompson suffered was a swollen foot.

He said: "The best feeling was when I could feel a shovel behind me removing the dirt so I knew I would soon be free."