'A single jump ruined my life - don't make the same mistake I did'
06.08.2023 - 15:55
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A man who shattered his leg after jumping off a cliff has warned others not make the same mistake he did.
The devastating incident has forced Paul Evans to walk on his tiptoes for almost 30 years because his ankle bones are fused together.
It’s painful each morning when he puts weight on it and sore at night when he lies down, reports NorthWalesLive.
And although the incident happened 27 years ago, Paul is set to face yet another operation almost three decades on.
The 53-year-old, from Wrexham, said: “I used to jump from rocks into the sea when on holiday in Greece. When you are young, you think you are bulletproof. You never feel pain and, if you fall from a tree, you bend, not break. For many youngsters, taking risks is a right of passage.”
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In 1996 Paul volunteered to help his employer relocate machinery from Wales to the Czech Republic. He was part of a three-man team in Litovel, a small village near the city of Olomouc in Moravia.
After one morning’s work he drove three miles to a former sand quarry. Paul said: “I knew a German engineer called Karl would be there, so I knew it wouldn’t just be me and the locals.
“A little man was at the gate collecting entry money and, when I arrived in the bank, some locals were having a firepit BBQ. They offered me a beer and soon after I jumped in the lake and swam for a while.
“Later I saw Karl and decided to go back in the water. There was a 10ft foot drop and you have to take a run-up. So I bombed over the edge. I hit the water, my right foot hit a rock on the bottom, and my tibia twisted.
“I must have screamed as, when I got out, Karl said, 'You have a problem?'. He