A BLIND man on a Vision Australia outing has survived falling about 2.5metres off Hastings jetty.

Witnesses said two men with seeing eye dogs were walking along the pier when people with a dog on a lead were heading back to land, about 1.30pm last Wednesday.

They said the leashed dog "had a go" at one of the seeing eye dogs, which jumped out of the way and caused the man to step sideways. He tripped on the raised edge of the jetty's north side and plunged into mud and shallow water. The tide was out.

The jetty, visited by 300,000 people each year, only has hand rails on the north side.

Paramedics were on the scene soon after the incident. A second ambulance arrived about 30 minutes later, but was not needed.

Paramedics inspected the man for injuries and then helped him up the beach and into an ambulance where he was taken to Frankston Hospital and treated for suspected broken ribs.

The incident has sparked concerns about the safety of the pier. Parks Victoria said in March 2008 the wooden, seaward end of the jetty had reached the end of its design life and would be replaced.

Various options were suggested, including a pontoon to move up and down with Western Port's three-metre tide.

Hastings and its jetty and nearby launching ramp are a key part of the State Government's Boating Coastal Action Plan, which identified Hastings as a major recreational boating precinct.

Parks Victoria stated in June 2008 it would decide the future of the jetty in December of that year.

Peninsula historian Malcolm Gordon said the first Hastings jetty was built in 1865 close to the site of the present one.

It served fishermen who hauled their catches by horse and cart to Frankston.