Boy, 9, talks of 60ft cliff fall

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A nine-year-old boy from Berkshire has spoken of how he survived a 60ft (18.2m) cliff fall after cartwheeling and landing on his feet.

Jak Theyer, of Newbury, was on holiday when he fell at Gwithian beach, near Hayle, Cornwall, last month.

He missed rocks on the way down and landed in a patch of sand on his feet, sustaining a fractured pelvis.

Lifeguards believe he fell unconscious during the fall which meant his muscles took the impact instead of his bones.

Jak said: "I saw I was going over the edge and couldn't stop myself.

Full recovery

"If I tried to stop myself I would probably have still fallen, so I jumped because I thought there was going to be rocks at the bottom."Lifeguards said Jak was seen cart wheeling down the cliff

He had been running along when he shot over the edge.

Lifeguard Scott Pemberthy said: "Obviously working here you know how high these cliffs are.

"Eyewitnesses said he cartwheeled and what we think happened was with the shock of falling off the cliff he slipped into unconsciousness and that could have potentially saved his life.

"It would have meant when he hit the ground his body would have been in a floppy state and allow his muscles to take the full brute force of it rather than his bones."

Jak now needs to aid of a walking frame but is expected to make a full recovery.