A kind German pensioner was rescued after falling into a 65ft deep well - as he was cutting the grass outside his home.

Well-meaning Roland Lorenz, 63, was helping out his neighbours by mowing the overgrown wasteland on public land alongside the street in Pattaya, Thailand.

But such was the state of the vegetation that the community-minded European failed to notice a gaping hole and slipped into the grass-covered shaft on Thursday afternoon.

Neighbours called the emergency services when they found him calling for help while floating in filthy chest-deep water.

Footage shows a rescue volunteer being lowered into the well using a rescue tripod. He secured a rope around Roland before officers winched the drenched pensioner to safety.

The rescue was completed in 15 minutes, with Roland uninjured.

Roland, from Berlin, said he failed to notice the well opening hidden by tall grass.

He said: 'I was soaking in the water for around 40 minutes, crying for help until my neighbour finally heard me. I consider myself very lucky. If she hadn't heard me calling out, I might have died that day.

'I was just trying to do a good deed, because the grass has been looking messy for a while and nobody was interested in tidying it up. This must have been why.'

Neighbour Paijit Khiaokasem, 53, added: 'I saw Roland walking past with his lawnmower in the morning, then suddenly he was gone.

'Later, I heard him screaming for help. I ran to check and found he'd fallen into a well, so I called the authorities right away.'