OBITUARY: Martin Hall - broke neck jumping off Ouse bridge

Martin Hall jumped off the bridge while celebrating his 25th birthday and broke his neck and spine, leaving him a quadriplegic.

Martin died from cancer on May 9 - just four months before his 50th birthday.

In the years following his accident, Martin campaigned for river safety and urged people not to make the same tragic mistake he had done.

He threw his support behind York newspaper The Press's Think, Don't Swim campaign - which was launched to raise awareness of the dangers of York's rivers after a spate of drownings. Martin said his own experience showed how anyone jumping in was as much at risk of paralysis as drowning.

Martin Hall - who has died aged 49

One of Martin's closest friends Leonie Summers today paid tribute to him.

She said: "He was very resilient. The accident changed his life and he faced a lot of adversity, but he was one of the strongest people I ever met. He was very kind and I remember his smile."

She added: "Martin jumped off Ouse Bridge 25 years ago and the accident left him wheelchair bound.

"Since having the accident he managed to achieve a degree in physics at Glasgow university and he was a volunteer tutor for children and young people in his chosen subject."

Martin was heavily involved with the Volunteer Tutors' Organisation (VTO) which gives one-to-one educational help and guidance to children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

A spokesperson said: "Although he was wheelchair bound, this did not restrict his participation in anything to do with the VTO which he enthusiastically supported. One of the great memories I have of Martin was when we both entered the Santa Dash three year ago. Despite the bitter cold and my inexperience of pushing a wheelchair, he took it all in good heart. He was an excellent tutor in his chosen subject of physics and will be sadly missed by the children he helped."

Martin's brother Terry said he had been "very proud of being a tutor" and "felt fulfilment and joy in helping the children”.

Leonie said Martin has been a guitarist in a York band, the Suicidal Flowers, and his love of music continued after his accident when he learned to play slide guitar.

She said that after studying in Glasgow, Martin remained in Scotland, where his brother lived.

A private cremation took place following his death.

Leonie, who now lives in Bridlington, said several of Martin's friends would be getting together in his memory at Museum Gardens on June 12 at 4pm.

She said: "He was my friend for 28 years. We shared a flat at the time of the accident. We visited every day for nine months while he was in Pinderfields hospital."

Martin Hall looks at the reflection in the mirror above his hospital bed at Pinderfields 7th October 1996

She added that following his accident Martin lived independently, took up wheelchair rugby and even went skiing.

Martin also set up a band for disabled and able-bodied entertainers.

"His life was meaningful and his close friends are going to go for a meal and then to Museum Gardens where we will say a little prayer.

"He never married or had children - how different his life might have been if he hadn't jumped in the river."

Don't make my mistake

In 2011, Martin gave a frank interview with The Press, sister paper of The Northern Echo, to highlight the dangers - and potential tragic consequences - of jumping into York's rivers.

He told how his life had changed forever when he jumped off York's Ouse Bridge on his 25th birthday - and urged other people not to make the same mistake.

Martin told of his "moment of madness" when he jumped off the bridge, and of the dark times since then when he has sometimes wished he had drowned that night.

"It was my 25th birthday on September 25 in 1996 and I had been out with my friends for a few beers, " he said.

Martin Hall is congratulated by his BSM instructorJohn Trevitt in1998

"I was walking back towards Holgate, where I lived then, and was some distance ahead of my friends when I was crossing Ouse Bridge.

"Thinking of what had happened on a previous stag night out, I thought they might strip me naked and tie me to a lamp-post and so I climbed on to the parapet shouting: 'Yippee, 25 today!' and dived in. There was no boat going under and the water was deep. I landed okay and swam to the beach and climbed back on to the bridge.

"A friend then jumped in with me. When I landed in the water I tried to move my legs and arms and nothing happened, and I started to sink. I called to my mate: 'I can't swim! I'm not joking, ' and he came over and brought me to the shore. I hadn't struck anything - I had just landed badly in the water.

"I thought I had just belly-flopped and I would get the movement back but then the paramedics came and took me to hospital. I still thought I would be okay but a guy at the hospital came over and said: 'You've broken your neck and you aren't going to walk again.'

"I was transferred to Pinderfields hospital in Wakefield, where I spent seven months and was taught how to use a wheelchair, how to eat, how to go to the toilet.

"When I was released, I was given a nice flat by the council but my life had been turned upside down and inside out.

"I became pretty hard core, drinking heavily and later became a bit of a hermit. I stopped in and became depressed for a couple of years. In my darkest days, I wished I had drowned. But I had to drag myself out of that."

Martin Hall who has died from cancer aged 49

He said he was involved in wheelchair sports and had moved to Glasgow to start a university degree in astronomy and physics.

He explained why he was speaking out now in support of the campaign.

"I want someone else to avoid making the mistake I made in a moment of madness."