'I broke my back on maiden flight in eBay paraglider'

A charity worker today told how he broke his back in two places after taking to the skies in a paraglider he bought for £300 on eBay.

Roy Dixon — whose maiden flight lasted less than a minute — did not take any lessons apart from looking at internet clips on YouTube, and made the mistake of tethering his paraglider to his car.

He fell 40ft and landed on his backside as his wife Catherine and nephew Michael looked on.

An ambulance was called to the scene near Hexham, Northumberland, on Sunday, and an RAF helicopter flew him to Newcastle General Hospital where he was awaiting surgery today. His two broken vertebrae might have to be fused.

Speaking from his hospital bed, the 45-year-old volunteer for Christian charity Mercy Trucks, which delivers medical aid, said he had been "quite foolish".

He returned a few weeks ago from disaster-stricken Haiti and had been looking forward to some fun after months of stress in some of the world's most deprived areas.

Mr Dixon said: "The thing you should never do, which I did, was tether it to a solid object. I went shooting up in the air, then banged down on the ground.

"Then I went up again. As I was dropping, I was thinking, this is serious'. The pain was like an explosion going off inside me."

He added: "I am very blessed that I got off so lightly. I am very embarrassed about the cost of the rescue I am used to setting up medical facilities around the world, not using them myself. The care I have received here is second to none."