A FORMER pit worker who broke his back after falling from a roof has described the support of the community as 'phenomenal'.

Paul Harper, of Havergill Grove, Wombwell, was fixing- up a unit for his new shopping trolley repair business in Monk Bretton when the accident occurred.

He fell through the roof dropping eight feet and fracturing his skull and leaving him wheelchair bound. Six months on and the 45-year-old engineer says he cannot believe how much the people of Wombwell and Darfield have done for him.

He said: "I want to say a big big 'thank you' to everyone for all their efforts and concerns, it has been phenomenal.

"When the chips are down you really know who your friends and family are and people in this locality have proved how big a family we are. Everyone clubs together when times are hard."

So far hundreds of pounds have been raised in a monumental money raising effort by pubs including The Queen Vic, The Longbow, The Drop Inn and The Sportsman.

Andrea Wilde, landlady of The Sportsman, said: "Paul is a regular, a friend and known extremely well throughout the area. On Sunday we raised £150 by doing a sponsored pub crawl but we still have a lot more money coming in. We all just want to help."

A charity night will be held at The Sportsman tomorrow with raffles, an auction, buffet and music from 8pm. An event will also be held at The Drop Inn.

Money raised will go towards alteration works in Paul's home and to Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Paul, who will continue with his shopping trolley venture in a management role, says he would also like to branch out into manufacturing race cars.