A lorry driver was arrested on suspicion of careless driving after a builder fell from a ladder and suffered severe head injuries.

The builder had been working in Heybridge Basin yesterday when the driver is alleged to have reversed into the ladder causing him to fall.

An Essex Police spokesman said: “Police have arrested a man on suspicion of careless driving following a road traffic collision on Basin Road in Heybridge.

“Police were called shortly before 9.30am following reports that a lorry had struck a man on a ladder outside the Jolly Sailor public house, causing serious injuries.

“The man was taken to Royal London Hospital by helicopter where he remains in a critical condition.”

Officers arrested the driver of the lorry, a 24-year-old man from Harlow, on suspicion of careless driving.

He has been bailed until February 7, 2015.