INTRUDERS saved a man who fell 20ft from a ladder while he was boarding up an empty house.

Father-of-two Brian Roberts, 45, landed on concrete after he slipped and fell to the ground, injuring his ankle, neck and head.

The council joiner was answering an emergency call at Pennywell, Sunderland, when the accident happened.

Council bosses were worried the vacant house would be targeted by vandals and he was sent round to board it up as quickly as possible.

But Newcastle County Court heard how there were already intruders at the building when he got there.

Mr Roberts said: "I didn't want to confront them but I did tell them they were trespassing.

"I started getting on with my job and was near the top of the ladder at a first-floor window when it slipped from under me and I landed on the floor.

"The two lads came rushing out to help and wanted to get an ambulance."

Mr Roberts was awarded £8,500 compensation after he told the court how he had asked for help to carry out the work but, when no one turned up, he felt obliged to carry on with the work himself.

Ruling in favour of Mr Roberts, judge Christopher Walton said Sunderland City Council should consider situations where employees felt constrained to attempt a task when their safety was compromised.

Mr Roberts, from East Herrington, Sunderland, still works as an emergency joiner for the council and returned to work two weeks after the accident. He suffers from tinnitus after the fall, which happened in September 1995.