Crane crash driver faces long road to recovery; Father-of-four paralysed below waist.

Byline: LUKE TRAYNOR

A FATHER-OF-FOUR will never walk again, after he was thrown from a crane cab which crashed onto flats in Liverpool.

Iain Gillham is now in a wheelchair following the accident at the Chandler's Wharf apartment block, in the city centre.

The 53-year-old, of Whiston, is paralysed from the waist down and faces a long road to recovery.

But his wife, Christine, last night told how her brave husband has vowed to fight all the way.

Mr Gillham has been in hospital since the July accident and is likely to remain there until next September.

He suffered a fractured skull, two sternum fractures, eleven spine fractures, a brain haemorrhage, a collapsed lung and serious crush injuries to his left shoulder and arm.

Mrs Gillham, 49, told the Daily Post: "We had big plans together, and after the kids flew the nest, Iain said to me: 'This is our time now.' "That has all gone out of the window.

"Iain will have to learn again all the things we take for granted - how he gets in and out of bed, how to wash, dress and make meals.

"He has given us a couple of runs for our money, but he is a fighter."

The incident happened on July 6 when Mr Gillham was working in the small crane cab hundreds of feet above the ground.

The machine suddenly collapsed, smashing into the flats and ejecting him from his seat into the building.

The crane's huge concrete counter-weight destroyed the internal staircase as it plunged through the building, leaving four people trapped inside.

Firefighters and paramedics worked to release Mr Gillham and he was rushed to the Royal Liver pool Hospital for emergency surgery. He spent more than four weeks in intensive care and defied doctors who thought he would not survive.

Now, the keen horserider faces a months of rehabilitation and long sessions in the gym to regain movement in his limbs.

The couple may have to leave their home because Mr Gillham could need a modified bungalow.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is still carrying out a detailed examination of the crane and its base to discover what went wrong.

Sections of the machine are being analysed, with tests on both the main structure and the base.

Residents were initially told their homes would be demolished, but the building's agent, Honeybourne Kenny, recently confirmed it is instead planning to save it.

Work to restore the building will begin in the New Year once its for mer occupiers have had all their belongings returned.

The accident happened just a week before government officials were set to launch a bid to tackle building site safety. At the time, the HSE was days away from a campaign forcing all tower crane operators to join a safety register.

There have been at least 11 other high-profile crane smashes in Merseyside since 2006.

CAPTION(S):

Iain Gillham Iain Gillham, who survived the Chandler's Wharf crane crash, with his daughter Naomi