A 39-year-old woman was rescued from a garden well by specialist rope crews in Malmesbury last Saturday.

The woman was viewing a property with her partner in The Triangle when she stepped on what appeared to be a piece of wood in the garden but was actually a well cover.

The woman fell approximately 30ft down the well and was chest deep in water.

A spokesperson from Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Rescue said: “Crews from Malmesbury and Tetbury were called out to a property in the Triangle, Malmesbury at approximately 12.30pm but specialist rope crews from Trowbridge and Chippenham assisted the rescue.”

The woman was reassured by members of the fire and rescue team while a rig was set up.

A spokesperson from Wiltshire Ambulance said: “The woman had no apparent injuries but was sent to Great Western Hospital to be looked over.”

The esate agents Strakers have released a statement following the incident at the weekend.

Antony Bulley, Managing Director of Strakers said: "The property is a deceased estate and it was therefore not possible for us to have been informed by the vendor that there was a well hidden within the shrubbery border.

"It was certainly not clearly visible as a well when we assessed the garden before putting it on the market. We were clearly shocked when this incident occured.

"Our immediate concern on learning of the incident was for the wellbeing of the lady concerned, and we are grateful for the prompt actions of the emergency services in dealing with this awful incident."

The estate agents have been cooperating with authorities and will carry out their own investigation into what happened and to see what they can do to prevent this from happening again.