A 42-YEAR-old Swanage man is fighting for his life in hospital after plunging 60 metres down a remote cliff face in his 4x4 vehicle.

The man went over cliffs at Emmetts Hill, St Aldhelm's Head in Purbeck in his Vauxhall Frontera at around 8.45am yesterday.

He is thought to have been thrown from the vehicle on its way down and hit rocks several times, leaving him with two broken legs, head injuries and severe internal injuries.

The driver was rescued after the crew of a yacht in Chapman's Pool heard him calling for help and alerted coastguards.

He was located barely conscious lying in thick undergrowth near the crumpled wreckage of his car and airlifted to Poole Hospital.

The rescue involved Dorset Police, coastguard teams from Kimmeridge, St Albans and Swanage, the coastguard helicopter and South Western Ambulance Service.

The man's dog was with him in the car but miraculously escaped unscathed and later made its way home, said a spokesman for Portland Coastguard.

He said: "We had a call from a yacht anchored at Chapman's Pool.

They had heard cries for help at Emmetts Hill. We sent coastguard response teams who discovered a smashed up car at the bottom of cliffs.

"We located the man in thick undergrowth. We had to use the winch on the helicopter to get down there. The chap said his dog might still be in the car but we couldn't locate it at all.

"The dog had escaped completely unscathed and ended up back under the kitchen table at home."

The rescue took most of the day he added.

A spokesman for Dorset Police said there were no suspicious circumstances and that the incident is being treated as a road traffic accident.

Witnesses or anyone with information about the incident should contact PC Martin Vaughan of the Blandford Road Policing Unit on 01202 222 222 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.