Llanelli Star

Grandad hurt in horror fall

Repair work ends in intensive care

- Robert Dalling @RobertDall­ing rob.dalling@walesonlin­e.co.uk 01554 700811

A GRANDFATHE­R is in intensive care after suffering a horrific fall while trying to repair windows at his home.

Stephen Jones sustained injuries including a punctured lung, fractured ribs and a broken shoulder blade.

He, his wife Denise Kingsley-Jones, and son Adam, 8, were together at their Kidwelly home on Saturday at around 5pm, when Mr Jones decided to do some DIY work to the house which they intended to sell.

The 62-year-old was trying to fix blown double glazed windows, in an attempt to clear condensati­on which had formed.

But he slipped and fell more than 10 feet to the ground, his body hitting a window ledge and then the garden.

“We had a lovely day at home and I was in the kitchen making a cake,” Mrs Kingsley-Jones said.

“Stephen was trying to fix blown double glazed windows to clear condensati­on, which you can only do from the outside.

“He was on the first floor of scaffoldin­g at home, like any other ordinary man wanting to improve his home, when he slipped and went flying.

“The scaffoldin­g made a huge, horrendous crash and all came down.

“I thought, no, it can’t be, there is no way that could have happened, but I went outside and it was just mayhem.

“It was an awful scene. Stephen bounced on the lower window ledge onto the grass, shattering his right side.

“I had to act quickly. I had to get my son and dog inside and my neighbours came running to help. Stephen managed to crawl from the front garden to the house. All I could hear was this terrible groaning.

“I was in a panic and called for an ambulance. He was saying ‘Don’t call an ambulance, I will take an asprin’. But he soon realised he couldn’t breathe and needed an ambulance.”

An air ambulance attended the scene, but Mr Jones was instead rushed to Morriston Hospital by road.

“I was on the phone to them and they were trying to calm me down while they made their way to the house,” Mrs KingsleyJo­nes said.

“The ambulance arrived within five to 10 minutes and the air ambulance was trying to land all over Mynyddygar­reg.

“I was trying to focus on Steve, but there must have been around 15 ambulance men and women there. They sedated him and took me and my son into the other room. They put him on a stretcher and took him to hospital.”

Mrs Kingsley-Jones admitted she was in a panic as the ordeal played out. “Instincts took over,” she said. “I was in a panic but survival instinct kicked in.”

Mr Jones has sustained a broken shoulder blade, and injured the right hand side of his body. He has fractured three or four ribs, and has also punctured his lung.

Mrs Kingsley-Jones has been by his bedside ever since, and he has also been visited by his brother Terence, and older sons Owen and Rhys.

His mother Betty, 87, has also been left distraught by the accident.

But despite the ordeal, Mrs Kingsley-Jones said the family felt he had been fortunate to escape without a worse outcome.

“I thought the scaffoldin­g was about 10 feet high, but the ambulance men said it was higher than that,” she said.

“He is very lucky, after a fall from that height you don’t usually make it.

“He is stable now, and is sitting up in bed in intensive care and is about to be moved to a ward, which is something. He is not going to be operated on. It will all heal, but it will take a while.”

Mrs Kingsley-Jones praised the help of the local community and the emergency services.

She said the family also planned to fundraise for the Wales Air Ambulance to say thank you for the care given to Mr Jones.

“The neighbours and community have been incredible, especially in this situation,” she said.

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 ?? Picture: Denise Kingsley-Jones ?? Stephen Jones suffered a horrific fall while trying to repair windows at his home.
Picture: Denise Kingsley-Jones Stephen Jones suffered a horrific fall while trying to repair windows at his home.

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