PANTO legend Martin Barrass has had an emotional meeting with the Yorkshire Air Ambulance paramedics who saved his life following a horrific motor bike accident.

The actor, renowned for his annual starring role at York Theatre Royal, suffered 17 broken ribs, a severely lacerated liver, two punctured lungs and a badly broken ankle in the smash last September.

He stopped breathing but was revived by paramedics before being airlifted to Leeds General Infirmary where he was placed in an induced coma for several days.

“The fact that I’ve survived is a miracle," said Martin, 61. "If I had not got immediate care at the roadside and then flown so quickly to hospital I don’t think I would have made it," he said.

“Meeting the people who actually saved my life was one of the greatest days of my life,” added the father-of-two.

“It was very emotional and they could not believe that I had come through. Apparently, the survival rate for someone who punctures both lungs is just one percent and I also stopped breathing for quite a long time.”

Martin is now hoping to organise fundraising events for Yorkshire Air Ambulance, including a charity celebrity cricket match at Heworth Cricket Club in September.

Martin is back at work having recently finished a run playing the Lord Mayor of Hull in a production of The Hypocrite for the Hull Truck Theatre Company and Royal Shakespeare Company.

And after missing last year’s panto at York Theatre Royal because of his injuries, he will be back this year.