A 12-YEAR-OLD boy from Muirkirk was told he was lucky to be alive after plunging almost 30-feet off a roof in Muirkirk.

Nicholas Byrne had attempted to jump from the roof of one building on to another, but never made it to the other side and fell to the ground, fracturing his pelvis in the process.

His injuries could have been much worse though if he had fallen straight downwards, but he bounced off a wall which actually broke his fall and although he was badly hurt, Nicholas is expected to make a full recovery.

As well as the chain of events which saved his life, another fortunate circumstance meant he was treated on the spot by firefighters, as mum Gillian explained.

She said: “Muirkirk Co-op is next to the building where Nicholas fell and there was a crew from the fire station in the store — they had been on a training exercise and were buying items in the store, and I can’t thank them enough.

“They could see he was badly injured, but at that stage never knew to what extent, and they looked after Nicholas and stayed with him until the paramedics arrived and he was taken to Crosshouse Hospital.

“Staff there told us that he was very lucky to be alive and he could so easily have been killed, or ended up in a wheelchair.

He kept saying ‘my back is sore’, and one of the staff told me that where he had broken his pelvis made it look as if he had been in a car crash.

“The hospital was fantastic, as were the firefighters, and also staff at the Co-op who knew Nicholas and called me to let me know what had happened.” When the drama was over, it transpired that Nicholas had been with two of his friends and whatever discussions took place between the three of them, he tried to leap from one roof on to another which was lower.

Gillian added: “It was such a dangerous thing to do and I hope this has been a lesson to them.” With the youngster now at the start of a six-week period of recovery during which time he will be housebound, Gillian is able to reflect on another slightly less serious injury, saying: “He also bit his tongue when he fell — but it hasn’t shut him up.”