YOUNG Timmy Davison had extra reason to celebrate his sixth birthday yesterday after cheating death in a 30ft fall from a bedroom window.

Timmy plummeted from the top storey of his Otley home on to a stone patio, puncturing his bowel and breaking a pelvic bone.

Parents Tony and Geraldine feared he might not survive to see his birthday as surgeons performed lifesaving surgery on the damaged bowel.

And they say the fact he survived at all is nothing short of a miracle. Dad Tony said: "With the probability of the injuries he could have had, I suppose he should be dead really.

"I certainly believe there was a guardian angel watching him that night. It's a hell of long way for anyone to fall. You just find yourself thinking, thank God."

Now the youngster is making a speedy recovery and is up and about in his Cambridge Terrace home.

But just two weeks ago, his parents and five brothers and sisters were in a state of shock after finding him staggering to the back door of the house.

Timmy had been playing in his room with four-year-old brother Matthew when he decided to find some Lego upstairs. In another bedroom there, he decided to do his parents a good turn by closing the dormer windows.

His dad said: "But one was a bit too far, a bit too stiff, and as he pulled on it, it wouldn't move. But the purchase he had put on it pulled him out and he rolled down the roof."

Timmy's fall was broken by a fence outside - which although possibly caused the bowel puncture, probably saved his life - before landing on the patio.

"We heard this noise and realised it was outside. When we looked out Timmy had managed to walk the three metres to the back door.

"He was very white and shaky, and all you could see was a split on his forehead which was bleeding," said Tony.

The family's immediate thought was that Timmy had tumbled from his own first-storey room. Worry turned to horror when they noticed the top-storey window open.

"We shot to Otley hospital where they were absolutely fantastic. They arranged for an ambulance to rush him to the LGI Clarendon wing where he had all kinds of tests and scans," said Tony.

An early diagnosis only found the broken pelvic bone, but things took a turn for the worse when doctors located the hole in Timmy's bowel.

"We signed the consent forms," said Tony. "The doctor pointed out that it was a lifesaving operation, that he was a very poorly little boy. If he didn't have it, he would die."

Timmy has bounced back and was in remarkably good health when he spoke to the Wharfedale Observer on Monday - a week before doctors thought he would leave hospital.

Only a slight stoop as he protected his sore stomach and a few ginger movements betrayed the extent of his injuries. "I'm all right now," he said as he played with brother Matthew.

Dad Tony said the full impact of the accident still had not sunk in. "There was no time to panic then, there's no point. We've still not really looked at the ramifications in detail," he said.

Family, friends and complete strangers have rallied round the family with cards and messages of support have been flooding in.

Children at St Joseph's RC Primary School in Manor Square, Otley, where Timmy is a Year One pupil, have sent cards. Head teacher Graham Horner said: "We are remembering him in our daily prayers. I also think his guardian angel was looking after him."

Tony, who is a contract manager for a Leeds firm, said support had been tremendous from all quarters. "People have been fantastic," he said.

"His birthday would be special anyway, but I suppose it's extra-special this time. It is a miracle really, there's no two ways about it."

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