A surfer who was attacked by a seal and then crushed his leg could not fit in the air ambulance after the horror accident as he is too tall.
Nathan Phillips, who has been described by his friends as a "legend", suffered horrendous injuries during an incident in Cornwall last week.
He was crushed by huge waves as he paddled out to sea after being attacked by a seal, Cornwall Live reports.
Then, his board crashed into his leg, snapping the bone in two - and he had to be rescued by a friend on a paddle board.
His ordeal continued after paddling half a mile back to land at Porthleven, near Helston, where medics treated him - but said the 6ft 2in surfer was too tall to fit into the Cornwall Air Ambulance helicopter as a replacement had been sent which was smaller than the normal one.
Nathan said: "I was paddling out and started being attacked by a seal pulling my leash. The waves were epic and after a few good one I took off and the wave crushed me and my board went into my leg."
Fortunately, his friend Pete was close-by and helped him following the incident.
But after the coastguard helped him onto a stretcher and an air ambulance arrived, Nathan was told he was too tall for it.
When another friend named Dave cut open Nathan's wetsuit, the full extent of the injury was revealed, as the surfer said: "I could see it was an open fracture."
The surfer was later transferred to Royal Cornwall Hospital in Treliske and said he was so stressed at night that he could not sleep.
Because of the incident Nathan - who is about to welcome his second baby - will be forced to take time off as he is a self-employed builder and his injuries mean he is unable to work.
To help Nathan and his family, two of his friends have set up a GoFundMe page - with the surfing community rallying around him. So far, they have raised more than £4,800.
Nathan's friend Jason Dreyer says: "Nate Dawg is a humble and hard-working man, so this injury is going to put him out of work for the foreseeable. On top of that he is five weeks away from becoming a father for the second time.
"Nate would be too proud to start this page himself, so as his close friend I’m going to throw it out there on his behalf. This legend needs our help."
The GoFundMePage adds: "Luckily due to the to top efforts of a crew of surfers, paramedics and coastguards they got him to hospital where he's now awaiting an operation.
"We just want to see if we can throw the man a few quid to help him through some tough times ahead. If all of us that know him chucked him the price of a pint it will make a world of difference to him, his partner and their expected first child."
To donate, click here.
