A lorry driver critically injured in an horrific road accident has spoken for the first time about the crash and his long fight back to fitness.

And Mick Harper, who came home from hospital just before the New Year, told the Evening Press he wanted to thank in person the rescuers whose quick thinking saved his life.

It was in the early hours of Tuesday, September 21, that Mick, of Beverley Road, Norton, was driving along the A169 from Pickering to Whitby when his lorry left the road and plunged 50ft down the Hole of Horcum.

Postman Ian Spurr, of Skelton, near York, raised the alarm some time later after noticing grass and other debris on the road.

When emergency services arrived, they discovered Mick had been thrown from the cab into the rootball of a tree which was felled by his lorry.

In the bleak early days after the accident, Mick, was worried he may have to rely on other people to look after him for the rest of his life. "I didn't think I was going to do anything and was going to be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life," he said.

But he underwent physiotherapy and occupational therapy to help him get back on his feet.

Now, through his own determination, he has defied expectations and is set to make a 90 per cent recovery over the next two years.

"It is all down to determination. I did not want to be in hospital and relying on anyone else."

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