Man recovers from 20ft tree plunge horror to carve creation as a thank you

Jud Bruce, 47, from Mirfield, pictured with the bird table he sold to pay thanks to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.Jud Bruce, 47, from Mirfield, pictured with the bird table he sold to pay thanks to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
Jud Bruce, 47, from Mirfield, pictured with the bird table he sold to pay thanks to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
A man who broke his back falling from a tree has created a bird table from its branches to thank Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA).

Jud Bruce, 47, from Mirfield, was pruning the silver birch in his garden when he fell nearly 20ft, landing on his back on a concrete wall.

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The farmworker was flown to Leeds General Infirmary by YAA where scans revealed he had only broken a single vertebrae. He auctioned off the bird table, raising £75 for the YAA.

Further funds have also been raised by villagers donating in collection tins at his nephew’s newsagents in Lower Hopton.

Mr Bruce said: “The air ambulance was just fantastic and this is a way to give a little bit back to them. It just felt like the completion of a circle.

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“It was sold in a silent auction at my nephew’s shop and I know that people have also made donations to support the charity which is just great.

“I’m fortunate as there is a field right next to my house so the helicopter could land and the paramedics were great. I was really panicking that I was going to be paralysed.

“The flight was so quick and I know it would have been much less comfortable and much longer if I had had to go by road ambulance.”

The YAA serves 5million people across Yorkshire and has carried more than 6,600 people in its 15-year history.

For details visit yorkshireairambulance.org.uk.