A Brighton man was fighting for his life today after falling 20ft from a window ledge when he locked himself out of his flat.

The 35-year-old was found lying in a pool of blood beneath his second-floor home in Cavendish Place.

The alarm was raised by the man's flatmate, who is believed to have been with him at the time.

The victim, who has not been named, was tended by former Brighton beach lifeguard Mike Walls until paramedics arrived at 4.20am yesterday.

Mr Walls, 23, a doorman at the Event night club on Brighton seafront, used his first aid training to tend the victim as he lay unconscious in the basement.

He said: "This is my girlfriend's flat and I had just come in from work. There was a man at the door in a panic, saying his flatmate had fallen from the window.

"I called the police and ambulance and then climbed out of the window and went down to him. I used my T-shirt to stem the flow of blood and put him in the recovery position."

The victim was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, where his condition was believed to be critical.

A Sussex Police spokesman said the incident was not being treated as suspicious.