A gardener was sucked into a muddy bog as he worked and had to be rescued by the fire brigade.

Fire crews from Burwash, Battle, Crowborough, Lewes and Kent spent more than two hours battling to free the man, in his 50s, after the alarm was raised at 9.30am yesterday.

Ian Smith was strimming grass at Storrers Oast, Lymden Lane, Stonegate, near Burwash, when he stepped into a boggy area by a stream.

His shouts for help were heard by the owners of the oast house who tried to pull him out and called the emergency services.

Firefighter Terry Bushell, from Crowborough station, said: "We were called because we have special animal rescue equipment, which provides us with a secure base to work from.

"As we tried to get him out, he went down deeper and deeper. We needed more and more people there to dig around him.

"He was really stuck and the clay mud had really suctioned him in around his legs. All we could do was dig and dig."

As the firefighters dug a hole around Mr Smith, who had sunk up to his waist, a rescue team from Lewes shored up the sides to stop it caving in.

He climbed out shortly after noon and was taken to the Kent and Sussex Hospital to be checked for injuries.