A foreign student had to be rescued after falling 20ft into a grass moat at a Napoleonic fortress.

Fire officials said the girl toppled into the 6ft-wide drained moat at the Redoubt Fortress on Eastbourne seafront at 1.55am today.

Crews dropped a ladder into the moat before helping her back to the top, where she was met by medics who gave her a check-up.

Several people have tumbled into the moat during the past year, including a 65-year-old man who died from head injuries last August.

Last October Colin Potts, 30, from Hailsham, broke his arm after falling into the 200-year-old moat, which is protected by 4ft-high safety railings.

The Redoubt Fortress is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the resort, with a museum of First World War exhibits.