Oldham man who fell 200ft from beauty spot takes first unaided steps

Imran Choudhury, 37, was left in a coma for three weeks and had to have his right leg reattached after the death-defying fall in February last year.

But after a 14-month rehabilitation process, he has released new footage this month praising medical teams as he took his first unaided steps since the accident.

Avid walker Imran had been out hiking alone near Dovestone when he asked a couple of ramblers to take a photo of him on the Trinnacles rock formation.

Imran on the walk

But as he was posing for the shot, he fainted and fell 200ft onto the scrubland below, fracturing his skull and leaving his right leg hanging on by just its skin.

Since then, Imran has worked “extremely hard” to get back on his feet, and said it was “amazing” to walk again without the need of a crutch after surviving the heart-stopping drop.

He said: “It’s just great because that was what I have been working for over the last 14 months. I’ve been working really hard, extremely hard, and it was amazing.

“They didn’t think I was going to make it because I was so critical. I fell so far down, then I rolled down so much, and was stuck in the middle of the valley.

“They all thought that I was going to die until I arrived at the hospital, and that was the moment they thought I might actually survive.”

Ex-restaurant business manager Imran, from Chadderton, had been out walking on February 23, 2021, in preparation for a fundraising trek to Kilimanjaro, when he fell.

A few months earlier, the dad-of-three had climbed Mount Snowdon and had set his sights on reaching the Trinnacle.

Imran said: “It was in the lockdown, and I left on that day in the morning. It was the school holiday, and the three kids were in bed.

“The Mrs was still asleep, so I got up and I had something to eat. I had a small breakfast, and I took a bottle of water and a can of fizzy drink, an apple and a banana and put it in my backpack.”

He arrived at The Trinnacle rock formation around 11.45 am and recorded a Facebook Live video, showing his followers the beautiful landscape below him.

He said: “Towards the end of that video, I actually said: ‘If anyone falls from here, that would be the end of the story for them.’

Two women, Carly and Nadine, who were passing by agreed to take a photo of him on their phone after he explained he was trying to raise money for a local hospital.

But as Imran was posing for the photo, he blacked out and fell off the 200ft high rockface.

He said: “They took two pictures, and I put my backpack on and took two or three steps down, and that was the last thing I remembered. I don’t remember anything else.

“My eyes and everything suddenly closed. I couldn’t hear anything, I couldn’t feel anything. I lost my consciousness, but I don’t know why.

“They thought I was hanging on at the side or something like that, but then they realised I’d fallen and saw me rolling down.

Imran added: “I stopped them to take pictures, but they actually stopped there for something more than that – which was helping me.”

The two women called the emergency services, while another two passing walkers also rushed down to help him.

And with the assistance of the Coast Guard, Air Ambulance and Mountain Rescue, Imran arrived at a nearby hospital around three hours later.

He had suffered fractures to his skull, shoulder blade, foot and spine - but one of his worst injuries was a break just below his right leg.

Imran said: “They said they didn’t think they would be able to save my right leg, but luckily, they managed to do it.

“Just below my knee joint, it was almost amputated – it was joined by a bit of skin – and they weren’t really sure what was going on.

“In the end, they had to saw away most of the bone, just below my knee. They left 25 per cent and 75 per cent, approximately, was thrown away.

“I am walking, but now one leg is shorter than the other, so that doesn’t really help."

But despite the challenges Imran still faces to reach full fitness, he says he has been overwhelmed by the support of doctors and nurses at his hospital.

He said: “A big thanks to our NHS, the pride of Britain, and of course, the Sheffield Northern General Hospital for everything. I can't really thank you enough, but that's the least I can do.”