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My birthday bash brush with death

Apr 19 2009 by Phil Doherty, Sunday Sun

A 21st birthday celebration almost claimed the life of a young North man when he plunged into the sea.

Chris Murray

Chris Murray, 20, was enjoying the birthday outing in Blackpool with three mates when he fell into the water near the town’s North Pier.

Swept out by the tide, he managed to grab one of the legs of the pier.

But after half-an-hour in the bitterly cold water he was starting to lose consciousness when his cries for help were finally heard by a passerby, who alerted a policeman on patrol.

Chris said: “I stepped on the slipway, but when I did my ankle – weak from an old football injury – twisted and collapsed and I fell into the sea. Unable to get back out, I hugged the leg of the pier as tight as I could and shouted for help.

“But with the minutes ticking away I thought I was going to die as my body was closing down with the intense cold.”

Chris, of Alnwick, Northumberland, was in Blackpool on Good Friday when he thought he had lost his driving licence.

After telling his friends to go to a club without him, he retraced his steps to the pier and was searching for the licence when he fell.

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