POPULAR Leigh councillor John Lea miraculously escaped battered and bruised from a Caribbean waterfall plunge.

John of, Rutland Street, broke three ribs, suffered kidney bruising and needed stitches in his head after falling 20 feet from rocks during a cruise break.

He was climbing a waterfall to get a better photo shot of the pool below when he slipped while jumping a gap.

The accident happened when John, his wife Dorothy and their friends Cllrs Bill and Evelyne Smith were docked for a day in Dominica.

A sore John explained: "There was green slime on the rock I jumped to, but it looked dry and solid. Unfortunately it was wet underneath and down I went, hitting a few rocks on the way and landing in a shallow pool of water.

"I remembered bouncing off the rocks and landing on my back. I thought I had broken it."

Some American tourists rushed to his aid and he was taken to hospital in Grenada and treated for cuts, bruises and broken ribs. Back on board the cruise ship treatment continued.

Now recuperating at home, John said: "I still enjoyed the holiday."

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