A BOLTON man who suffered horrific injuries in a climbing accident has fought back from paralysis to scale the heights again.

Paul Pritchard's family feared he would die after a rock crashed on his head and crushed the left side of his brain.

But Paul, aged 32, has made a remarkable recovery and has managed to walk up a mountain again. Now he aims to achieve his ambition of walking up Mount Kilimanjaro.

Intensive

Next week, a book he wrote during his rehabilitation will be launched in London.

Former High Lawn and Smithills School pupil Paul spent a month in intensive care in the Royal Hobart Hospital in Tasmania following the horrific accident.

Paul, who was born in Belmont Road, Astley Bridge, was paralysed down the right side of his body following the accident, which happened as he was climbing a 200-feet sea stack in Tasmania called the Totem Pole.

The rocky outcrop is so remote and inaccessible that rescue efforts were extremely treacherous. The gaps between rocks were too narrow for a helicopter to get near and it was also very hard to reach by boat.

His mother Jean Allen, of Barrow Bridge, said: "We were all deeply worried. His rescue took 10 hours before he was in the operating theatre and during the days afterwards we didn't know if he would live or die.

"But with sheer courage and grim determination he has pulled himself out of this pit of despair, and despite the fact that he has no use of his right hand he has written a further book."

Paul was eventually flown back to North Wales, where he now lives, and spent time in Bangor Hospital. Later he spent six months on the neuro-rehabilitation unit at Clatterbridge Hospital on the Wirral.

During his recovery Paul had to face the reality that he would never be able to tackle climbs like the Totem Pole again.

However last month, just over a year and a half after the terrible accident, he walked up the 2,382 feet Moel Eilio mountain near Llanberis with the aid of a stick.

Wonderful

Paul said: "I just took every day as it came after the accident. It's been tough, but I have always been determined to achieve things. It was a wonderful feeling when I walked up the mountain last month."

When the accident happened, Paul was in Australia on a dream trip financed by prize money earned in a literary award given to him in recognition of his first ever book called Deep Play.

Paul's new book, The Totem Pole - and a Whole New Adventure, is published by Constable. Paul's story will also be featured on a BBC 2 programme called The Face in November.

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