WARMINSTER Town captain Mark Breffit has thanked the paramedics who saved his right leg and his life after he suffered a horrendous double break during a match at the weekend.

The 27-year-old suffered a broken tibia and fibula on Saturday after been tackled by a rival player when Warminster played Corsham Town at Weymouth Street.

He was airlifted to Bath’s Royal United Hospital by Wiltshire Air Ambulance and underwent surgery to pin the bones back in place, but complications posed a threat not only to Mr Breffit’s leg but also to his life.

He underwent his third operation yesterday and is determined to make a full recovery.

The self-employed buyer and seller of mobile phones from Goulds Ground, Frome, said: “I knew straight away that it was broke, it was painful for the first ten minutes and after that I went into shock.

“These things are just part of the game, I’m not angry with what happened.

“The surgeons told me that there was a risk of getting acute compartment syndrome which means that blood can’t get to your nerves and muscle because of swelling which could have made me lose feeling in my nerves and could have led to amputation and can even be fatal.”

Mr Breffit’s girlfriend, Jen Brine, was not at the game – which Warminster ran out 6-1 winners of after the hour delay – but rushed to her partner’s side and comforted him on the pitch as the paramedics worked to make him stable.

The 28-year-old said: “It was quite shocking to see your boyfriend like that, it’s not something you expect to see from a football match.

“We tried to comfort him and WAA crew were talking to him and saying it was going to be okay.

“He’s incredibly strong, football is his life and this has been very difficult for him.

“He can’t wait to get back playing and he’s handled the situation incredibly well.”

Despite the long road to recovery Mr Breffit is keen to thank those who helped him, especially the WAA which Miss Brine has already set a JustGiving page up for to raise money.

“The WAA were just brilliant, the way they treated me and got me to the hospital,” he added.

“I just couldn’t thank everyone enough for all the support they have given me.”

To make a donation visit https://www.justgiving.com/Mark-Breffit-Warminster or text BREF67 plus amount.

Derek Graham, joint-manager at Warminster Town, said: “We knew straight away it was bad because Mark was stood on his left leg and his right was just hanging and you could see it was broken.

“One of our players was almost sick because it was so bad.

“The paramedics were fantastic, the first-responder got there in ten minutes and Mark was out of the ground by helicopter in the hour.”

Match report: Page 96