George HW Bush leaves hospital after receiving treatment for broken bone in his neck

The former US President is expected to make a full recovery in three to four months

(EPA)

The 91-year-old former US President George HW Bush has been released from hospital, where he had received four days of treatment after breaking a bone in his neck.

Mr Bush – father of the last US president George W Bush – fell on Wednesday in his family's vacation home in coastal Kennebunkport. He was taken to the Maine Medical Center in Portland where he has remained.

Mr Bush, who has Parkinson's disease, did not sustain any spinal damage from the fall though it left him with a cracked C2 vertebrae. Wearing a neck brace, he is expected to make a full recovery in three to four months.

He was last hospitalised for a week in December due to breathing difficulties. He served as vice president during Ronald Reagan's two White House terms before being elected president in 1988. Mr Bush, who is also the father former Florida Governor Jeb Bush who is seeking the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, was said to be “very grateful” for his care.