A FARMER who spent three weeks in a coma after falling as he worked on the roof of his barn awoke when his wife whispered in his ear that he was a grandfather for the first time.

Medics had begun to lose hope that Didmarton farmer David Russell would recover from the fall without lasting injuries and after three weeks warned his wife Helen that he could be left with serious brain damage.

But the following day when she told her husband their daughter-in-law had given birth to a healthy little girl, David woke up and winked.

He had been replacing guttering on a barn when he fell from a raised platform and landed on his head. Paramedics airlifted him to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol where specialist surgeons operated for five hours to remove a blood clot from his brain. The operation was successful but David remained in a coma for three weeks.

David said: "The doctors told my wife that there was a risk that although I was going to survive I may be severely brain damaged.

"The next day Helen told me that we had become grandparents and I allegedly opened my eyes and blinked and winked but I don’t remember it.

"My wife had written a diary day-by-day which, when I read it a week later, brought tears to my eyes as I realised the enormity of what I had put her and my children through.

"I was just so cross with myself that I did something so stupid and subjected a lot of people to a lot of grief. My concern now is just on getting better."

David, who celebrated his 60th birthday whilst in hospital, met his granddaughter Edie for the first time when his son Edward and wife Ellie, who live in London, visited two weeks ago.

Helen said: "He came round when I told him we were grandparents for the first time. He’s incredibly proud and thrilled to be a grandfather."

After two weeks of rehabilitation at Gloucester Royal Hospital, David finally returned home this week.

The couple say they are indebted to all the hospital workers who helped with David’s recovery.

Helen added: "They were truly wonderful and they did a fantastic job, we owe a lot to them.

"To say I had been through hell and back doesn’t quite describe it - it was an emotional rollercoaster."