A TEENAGER has spoken of the terrifying moment he and a friend fell 75ft down a chalkpit after a night out.

Ben Clemons, 18, of Shakespeare Road, Sittingbourne, and his pal Steve Watson, 20, were trying to find friends who they thought were camping in the pit in the early hours of Easter Monday morning.

After falling down the pit in Highsted Road they were able to dial 999 using Mr Clemons' mobile phone. A specialist Kent Fire Brigade line rescue team was rushed to the scene from Deal at 3.15am to hoist the pair to safety.

They were taken to the Medway Maritime Hospital suffering from back injuries and bruising. Mr Clemons parents brought him home on Tuesday to recover at home. His father, Steve, said: "He has two cracked vertebrae and he is very battered and bruised.

Ben, a bar supervisor and former Fulston Manor pupil, said they had been to Jumpin Jaks nightclub in Maidstone and had been dropped off by a friend Highsted Road.

He explained: "We squeezed through a hole in the fence and started walking through bushes but we then suddenly fell. We knew there was an old quarry there but could not believe it when we started tumbling down the side of the pit.

"The next thing I remember was lying at the bottom. Fortunately I always carry my mobile phone so was able to dial 999. It turned out our friends were not in the quarry at all."

Mr Watson, a former Sittingbourne Community College student, of Shortlands Road, Sittingbourne, is home from university for Easter. He is due to be discharged from hospital today.

Kent Fire Brigade assistant divisional officer Andy Merriman said: "All of the emergency services worked well together.

"It was a very difficult job as far as access was concerned. It was a heavily wooded area and the rescue had to be done very meticulously so as not to cause any more injuries to both casualties and our crews."