Tony Hindley had a miracle escape after tumbling off a 30ft wall during a holiday in Jersey.

He landed on hard sand, puncturing his lung, and needed 19 pints of blood during hours of surgery.

Doctors had to remove three ribs and clamp his pelvis with metal rods.

After 11 months of physiotherapy, Mr Hindley, 67, was today meeting the paramedic who was sure he would die.

Mr Hindley and his wife Audrey, also 67, from Littlehampton, were flying to the island to thank medical staff.

Mr Hindley told The Argus he had since learnt four people had fallen to their deaths from the wall, built as defence against the Germans in the Second World War.

He said: "I do not even remember falling. I remember being on the top of the wall.

"I was conscious when I hit the ground and I can still recall terrible pain. It was more pain than I had ever felt before. My left side took all the impact."

Jersey has been the couple's favourite holiday destination for two decades and they usually visit twice a year.

Mrs Hindley was horrified when her husband plunged to the ground.

She said: "One minute he was there and the next he was not. You could blink an eye and he was gone.

"My son-in-law said, 'He's gone over, he's gone over' and we started rushing around.

"It was horrendous. It's like a bad dream and you think it's not really happening."

Mrs Hindley called the emergency services and a passing doctor helped with first aid before Mr Hindley was taken to hospital, where surgeons operated for nearly five hours.

Mrs Hindley said: "They had to take emergency measures to stop the bleeding.

"He needed 19 pints of blood. It was going out as fast as it was going in. He should not have been alive."

Doctors estimated Mr Hindley's chances of survival at ten per cent but he miraculously began to regain his health.

Mr Hindley was eventually airlifted from Jersey General Hospital to St Richard's Hospital, Chichester.

He has had extensive physiotherapy and now walks with a cane.

He said: "When I first woke, I remember hearing Audrey's voice.

"Doctors had told her to keep talking to me. She was asking me a question and I think I frightened her when I answered.

"It was about six weeks later that I was aware of things round me. I had to learn to move again.

"My body was completely drained of strength but the physiotherapists were fantastic.

"There was so much muscle wastage - I had to learn to do everything again."

This week's visit will include a church service in Mr Hindley's honour.

He said: "There are still a lot of the people who helped me that I haven't met. We tracked one of the paramedics a week ago. He was the first to the scene.

"We spoke on the phone and he said he never thought we'd be having the conversation because he'd never seen a body so badly smashed up."

Walberton-based studio PPL will film the Hindleys' trip for religious organisation IMPACT Ministries.