Former US President George HW Bush has been admitted to hospital after breaking a bone in his neck in a fall at his home in Maine, the BBC reports.

His spokesman said he was in a stable condition and his hospital stay was expected to be brief.

Mr Bush, who has Parkinson’s disease and cannot use his legs, celebrated his 90th birthday last year with a sky dive.

He had to go to hospital at the end of last year with shortness of breath.

Spokesman Jim McGrath said Mr Bush, the oldest of the four living former US presidents, would need to wear a neck brace following his fall on Wednesday morning in Kennebunkport.