Builder makes miraculous escape after 15 tonnes of rubble collapses on top of him

A builder had a miraculous escape after he was crushed under 15 tonnes of rubble while demolishing a garage.

The shocking moment of the dad-of-two getting buried under the bricks was captured by the horrified homeowner.

Thankfully Jake Weir, 33, made a full recovery despite fears his leg would have to be amputated.

The former paratrooper was demolishing a garage in Spalding, Lincolnshire, last June when the building collapsed.

He said: "I remember the wall exploding and hitting me in the face.

"I was still conscious and I looked up and thought I've got to get out of here.

"Honestly, I thought I was gone, I thought that was it.

"I thought I was going to die, but when I saw the dust settle on the bricks and realised I was still alive my adrenaline kicked in and I started to drag myself out of the mess."

His friends dragged Jake from the rubble - but the builder soon saw the extent of his injuries. His left leg had been so badly hurt it was only attached to the body by a sliver of skin.

He said: "I pulled myself from the rubble and looked down to see my legs in knots.

"I couldn't feel any pain though - it was a strange sensation, I was just numb. My leg was hanging off basically."

Jake was rushed to Nottingham's Queens Medical Centre where doctors told him he would probably need to have his leg amputated.

But luckily doctors drilled metal pins into the ligaments and tendons in his shredded limb during a gruelling six hour operation.

And just under a year after the horrible accident Jake is back on his feet and back to work.

Jake, who lives with his wife Amanda, 40 said: "It's a job which I'd done before, and when you are demolishing things often people want to take pictures or videos of the moment.

"That's how my accident came to be caught on video.

"When I first saw the video it was very difficult to watch. I don't watch the video any more, I've had to deal with what happened to me.I've had flashbacks of that moment, it still haunts me.

"I can't get over what's happened."

He added: "It was certainly a wake-up call which makes you put your life in perspective.

"I don't watch the video any more. Psychologically I've had to deal with what happened to me and it's taken some time. I did used to get flashbacks, but I'm thankful I can now see the funny side.

"I'm just so thankful I'm alive."