DARREN DIXON survived a plunge from a tree when a young girl broke his fall.
The girl was passing below just as Darren, 11, slipped and fell, landing on top of her.
She walked away unscathed, while he suffered a broken wrist and a cracked pelvis.
He was playing with friends in West Boldon, South Tyneside, and climbed the tree in search of conkers, despite it being the wrong season.
Darren spent more than a week recovering at South Tyneside District Hospital, with mother Jacqueline and father Anthony, both 42, at his bedside.
The youngster is now home facing a long recuperation before starting his studies at Boldon Comprehensive School, in September.
His father, of Boldon Colliery, said: "It was just the kind of thing that high-spirited lads do. We are glad the girl is okay.
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