A Bradford pensioner had to be rushed to hospital after a huge section of cliff smashed into a hotel leaving him trapped under a table.

Philip Nelson had to remove his artificial leg to free himself from the rubble which plunged down a cliff-side and smashed into the Shanklin Beach Hotel on the Isle of Wight.

Mr Nelson, 68, who was holidaying with his wife, was one of four people who had to be taken to hospital for treatment after the drama.

The wall of the hotel's bar collapsed under the weight of 15,000 tons of rock and rubble. The bar and dance floor areas became swamped by a deluge of rock, soil and trees after the landslide.

Emergency crews who raced to the hotel described the scene as a "bomb site." The area was today sealed off amid fears that further landslides could happen on the rain sodden cliff.

The site was due to be examined by building experts today before any further action is taken.

Mr Nelson, of Whiteways, who wears an artificial leg, told how it twisted round as a table fell on him.

And the retired publican said he was forced to strip down to his underpants to remove the leg before struggling free.

He said: "We were sitting against the back wall of the ballroom and the first question in the quiz was just about to be asked.

"Then suddenly there was a huge thunder-type noise.

"The next thing I knew the wall had collapsed tipping over our table with all our drinks on and throwing me to the ground.

"My false leg twisted right round and I was trapped. People around me managed to stay calm and helped me to become freer.

"But I had to remove my trousers to take off my leg. I left the leg in the bar as everyone was moved out to safety.

"I felt bare without it and we went back to get it a bit later when the all-clear was given.

"It was a terrifying incident and something you wouldn't expect to happen on a holiday on the Isle of Wight."

The slide also wrecked at least eight cars which were sent careering into the back of the hotel, causing hundreds of thousands of pounds of damage.

The incident involved a 140 foot high cliff which stands directly behind the hotel in the seaside resort of Shanklin.

Police say a 160 foot wide section of the cliff suddenly broke away and plunged into back car park of the hotel and then into the building itself.

Police evacuated 165 people from the hotel, most of whom were on holiday, and from a neighbouring block of flats.

Mr Nelson was staying at the hotel with his wife Margaret, 60, and had travelled from their home in Bradford with a coach party on Monday.