A CLEANER from Swindon is fighting for his life in intensive care after falling 50ft while cleaning a lift.

The 34-year-old man, who has not been named, works for Swindon-based sub-contractor Superior Access Solutions Ltd and suffered the fall on Sunday.

The man is in a critical condition today with a fractured skull and broken ankle and ribs following the fall at the Newlands Shopping Centre in Kettering, Northamptonshire.

The man was airlifted to the Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry after falling while cleaning the inside windows of the centre lift shaft at 2.45pm.

He was stablised by attending emergency services before being released from the lift and placed on an air ambulance soon after 4pm.

It is understood that the man was working for the sub-contractor, based in Rodbourne Road, at the centre for just the one day when he suffered the fall.

Two air ambulances landed in the town centre following the man’s fall and police closed Northall Street before cordoning off an area around the lift.

Centre managers then made the decision to close the centre so paramedics could treat the man.

Three teams of firefighters were also called to help free the man from the basement of the shaft.

Using ropes, they hauled the man onto a stretcher where he was stablised and then sent off to hospital.

The health and safety officers at Kettering Council confirmed that they were launching an initial investigation into what had happened.

Incidents which occur in public places are more often dealt with by the local authority than the Health and Safety Executive.

The centre’s manager, Neil Griffin, has been receiving regular updates on the condition of the man.

He said: “We’re all hoping he pulls through OK.

“I think many of us are still in a bit of shock about what happened.”

The centre is fully open again, with only the affected lift temporarily closed.