A MAN who survived a 150ft fall down a lift shaft has won nearly £1million compensation.

In March 2001, Gary Smith, 40, from Stanford-le-Hope, was working as a lift engineer 11 floors up at Canary Wharf Tower, London, when the supporting rope of the maintenance platform snapped, sending him and a 110lb lift motor plummeting.

Mr Smith landed underneath the motor and lay there for five hours, bleeding and semi-conscious.

When firefighters tried to rescue him, they knocked a hole in a wall four floors above, showering him with debris. When they reached him, he was accidentally hit on the head with a hammer.

The once keen rugby player, who played front row forward for Stanford Rugby Club, spent eight weeks in hospital. Since then, he has suffered from post-trumatic stress disorder. He has had 20 operations and still faces another five. There is also a chance he might have to have a leg amputated.

Published Friday, February 10, 2006