A YOUNG girl was rescued after falling ten feet down a water filled well.

Ella Honey, 12, of Langford Crescent, Benfleet disappeared through a pile of dried grass and black felt while walking through a field with two friends near Great Burches Road.

Her mother, Katy, 33 was horrified when her daughter’s friend called to tell her.

She said: “Ella was fully submerged under water but she managed to get onto a ledge inside the drain.

“She was still up to her waist in water when I ran there with a group of other parents.

“We could not get down to help her out, so we had to call the fire brigade.”

Fire crews were called shortly after 5.25pm on Wednesday and lowered a rope to rescue her from the hole variously described as an open drain and a well.

She said: “The firefighters told me if she had moved her head even slightly to the left or right, this would have ended much worse.

“She was absolutely traumatised, it broke my heart when we found her.

“I can still hear her little voice saying to me ‘I don’t want to die’.”

Thankfully Ella left hospital with only minor cuts and bruises.

Katy added: “I cannot thank the firefighters enough for what they did and I will be taking Ella to see them soon to pay our thanks properly.”

The hole has since been covered.

A spokesman for Castle Point Council said: “We are sorry to learn of the incident last night when a young girl fell down an open manhole.

"The council is liaising with the fire service to establish the precise location of the incident to establish whether it took place on council owned land and what action was taken.

"A full inspection of council owned land in the vicinity was undertaken this morning and all manhole covers are intact.”

Castle Point Council has since confirmed that the land is not owned by the council.