A 44-year-old man was taken to hospital after a three-and-a-half tonne steel beam fell on his head.

The man, from Doddington, near Sittingbourne, suffered lacerations to his head in the accident at Medway Galvanising on the Eurolink Industrial Estate at Sittingbourne.

The beam fell about six to 10 feet and knocked the man down to a concrete floor and caused bleeding from his head wound.

Paramedics said he was alert when they arrived and he was lucky not to suffer any spinal problems. They put him on a long board spinal board and transferred him to Medway Maritime Hospital.

Medway Galvanising's environment, health and safety manager Bob Cole said that an investigation had been launched.

He added: "The person involved is not critically injured so we hope he will be discharged within the next 24 hours."