A worker at Eltham cemetery in Melbourne's northeast had to be pulled from a grave after a workplace accident early Tuesday morning.

"He was moving some steel plating off the top of the open grave," said Country Fire Authority (CFA) incident controller Gavin Wright to 3AW.  "He fell forward into the grave and broke his leg as he landed at the bottom."

The worker in his 40s was trapped for two hours.  Firefighters arrived at 7:45 AM to extract him from his predicament. 

"Quite painful, but luckily not life-threatening injuries," added Mr. Wright.

After installing timber shoring around the grave to make sure it wouldn't collapse, CFA and MFB lifted the man out with harnesses.