A MAN cheated death when he plunged more than 100ft from a mountain breaking his back in a terrifying fall.

Christian Unsworth was was hiking on Coniston Old Man when he lost his footing and plummeted to the bottom of a crag.

The 25-year-old, who suffers from ataxia, a neurological condition which can affect coordination, balance and speech, was saved by a couple from Newcastle who saw him fall and rushed to his aid, making sure he stayed still until the air ambulance arrived.

Ian Unsworth, Christian’s father, said that his son was lucky to be alive after the fall, which has left him hospitalised with a broken back, broken pelvis and a punctured lung.

“We had gone out for a drink and something to eat,” he said.

“When we got back my partner’s relative told me Christian had had a fall. I never thought it would be something like this, I just thought it was a little tumble.

“He was airlifted to Preston as it’s a major trauma unit. They told us to come right away so I feared the worst.

“He had to have a couple of litres of blood - he lost that much."

Coniston Mountain Rescue was called to the site at the bottom of Grey Crag above the Coppermines Valley.

Walking conditions were good as Christian set out for his walk, with rescue teams describing it as a “beautiful, clear, sunny” day.

In a rescue mission which took 14 members more than two hours, two Land Rovers were deployed to the main tourist track - which was relatively close to the incident.

A spokesman for Coniston Mountain Rescue said: “He was given pain relief and once stable, was placed in a vacuum mattress, and stretchered off the fell side to the helicopter.”

He was then flown by the Great North Air Ambulance to Royal Preston Hospital.

Since arriving at the trauma unit, Christian has begun the slow steps to recovery, undergoing a major back operation to help him walk again.

“He’s had a couple of pins put into his back,” added Ian.

“He is walking quite slowly but he is walking - with help. I think because he’s so young he has been able to start recovering.

“He really is lucky to be alive.”

Christian’s family is hoping that he will be moved to a hospital closer to his Wigan home in the coming days, where he will continue his recovery with intensive physiotherapy and is planning to return to the mountain later this year.