Groom fights for life after falling 12ft through banister on way to bedroom on wedding night

A groom is fighting for his life after falling through a hotel banister on his wedding night.

Chris Mallon had married his new wife Avril just hours earlier when he lost his footing at the top of a set of stairs and plunged 12ft to a paved area below.

The newlywed, who is in his 50s, suffered serious injuries to his brain, lung, back and heart and is in an induced coma in hospital, the Edinburgh Evening News reports.

His wife Avril has been at his hospital bedside since the accident happened at the Macdonald Houstoun House Hotel in West Lothian, Scotland, in the early hours of Saturday.

Describing the incident on Facebook, she said: “At the end of the night after all the guests had left a member of staff helped Chris to take some gifts and cards up to our honeymoon suite which is in a separate listed building.

“At the top of the stairs Chris lost his footing and he went to grab the banister and fell right through the large gap down 12-foot onto the pavement below. This was an accident waiting to happen.”

She added: “Thanks for everyone’s kind words, I wish I could tell you better news. Sadly more bad news that Chris has a significant brain injury significant lung injury and back injury and damage to his heart.

“On top of this he has developed an infection he is still in an induced coma and critical.”

A spokesperson for the Scottish Ambulance Service said: “We received a call at 01.59am on 15 June to attend an incident at Macdonald Houstoun House Hotel.

“We dispatched two ambulances to the scene, with the first crew arriving at 02.04am.

“We transported one male patient in his 50s to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.”

The incident is being investigated by environmental health officers.

A West Lothian Council spokesperson said: “We are aware of an incident and an investigation is currently underway in line with health and safety regulations.

“It would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”

A Houstoun Hotels spokesperson said: “Our thoughts are with Christopher Mallon and his family.”