A handyman who fell 20ft from the town hall roof while catching pigeons has thanked the air ambulance crew that flew him to hospital and saved his life.

Pete Phillips, 53, was left with a fractured skull and a cut and broken arm after plunging from the Guildhall Street building in September.

He was flown to King’s College Hospital in London where he underwent an emergency operation to repair an artery and restore the blood flow to his arm.

As Mr Phillips, affectionately known around the town as Sprucer, prepares to return to work later this month, he met the doctor and paramedic from the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance team who went to his aid.

He said: "It’s been absolutely amazing and brilliant to meet them and I can’t thank them enough for what they did. I’m just glad to be alive.

"I can’t remember much about what happened so they were able to fill in the gaps in my memory. It’s a brilliant charity and everybody should contribute to keep it going."

Mr Phillips met Dr Leonieke Vlaanderen and paramedic Alan Cowley.

Mr Cowley said: "Essentially, we gave him pain relief and antibiotics to prevent infection to his arm, which had a gaping wound.

"We were then able to deliver him quickly to a specialist major trauma centre where he received definitive care,which was time-critical."

It took pilot Captain Kevin Goddard 20 minutes to reach the London hospital, a journey that could have taken an hour by road.

The patient spent six days in hospital before being allowed home.

Mr Phillips, a father-of three and a former North Sea miner from Newcastle who lives in Bradstone Road, told KentOnline at the time: "There was just one pigeon left to catch.

"I heard a crack and the next thing was someone holding my hand saying 'can you squeeze it?' and the image of helicopter blades and then some sky and just little glimpses.

"It was like a dream. I couldn't believe it was happening.

"It's the first time it's ever happened to me. It was just lights out. You normally get the feeling to save yourself, but that didn't happen."