Boy airlifted to hospital after horror fall off bike

AMUM whose son was left in intensive care after falling head first from his bike is warning youngsters of the importance of wearing helmets.

Jacob Hildebrandt was airlifted to hospital with serious head injuries after the incident in Prestatyn over the weekend.

His mum, Melissa, said he is “lucky to be alive” after he went over the handlebars of his bike as it plunged more than 5ft down an embankment near the Nova Centre.

Speaking from Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool where Jacob remains, Melissa said the family still don’t know the full extent of the Rhyl High School pupil’s facial injuries.

But MRI scans have shown the 11-year-old from Kinmel Bay has miraculously escaped any trauma to his brain.

The mum-of-two said: “Jacob can’t remember anything about what happened, but from what I’ve heard from his friends he was riding his bike from the beach towards the grassy area near the park and arcade at the bottom of Bastion Road.

“It doesn’t seem like Jacob had realised there was an embankment, he thought the land was flat and he’s come off his bike head first from a 5ft height.”

She added: “When I got a call from one of his friends to say he had been hurt, I expected to get there to find him standing up with his mouth bleeding or something.

“I never thought I would ever witness what I saw when I got to the scene. I got a big shock to find him lying on the floor screaming, my heart just stopped.”

An ambulance and two rapid response vehicles were sent to assist but the nature of Jacob’s injuries meant he had to be flown to Alder Hey.

Once there, he was rushed to intensive care and emergency tests were carried out. He’s now been moved to the high dependency ward to await further scans.

“Doctors don’t yet know if Jacob has broken any facial bones because it is still too early for them to remove his neck brace. He’s in a lot of pain,” said Melissa, whose husband Lee and 18-year-old daughter Dionne are staying in the hospital’s Ronald McDonald House.

Stepping up warnings about the importance of protective head gear, she added: “Jacob wasn’t wearing a helmet and I urge other parents to please make sure your children wear them. They may not look cool but they can save lives.

“All the way to the hospital, I was praying he didn’t suffer any brain damage and I would hate for anyone else to have to go through that. Jacob has been lucky this time but it could have been so much worse. He’s still got a long way to full recovery but the main thing is he’s on the mend.

“I would just like to thank the emergency services from the bottom of my heart. Fantastic just isn’t a good enough word.”