A FUNDRAISER who was trapped under a raft when it capsized during a Monmouth race has thanked the people who saved his life.

Andy Ryan, 44, was rescued and resuscitated by his team mates and spectators at last month’s Monmouth Charity Raft Race.

He spent three weeks in hospital but is now at home recovering.

Mr Ryan said if those around him had not acted quickly he would not be here today.

He was competing with a Blackwood-based crew on September 6 when their raft, the Marie Celeste, crashed into a bridge on the River Wye in Redbrook and overturned.

Mr Ryan, who lives near Blackwood, thinks he hit his head on the bridge because he does not recall being dragged underwater and his next memory is waking up in Hereford County Hospital four days later.

Spectator Darell Thomas, 30, from Redbrook, waded into the water to help the crew free Mr Ryan who was trapped under the raft, but by the time they dragged him to the riverbank he had stopped breathing.

Mr Thomas resuscitated him with the help of a nurse.

Mr Ryan, a forklift truck driver, was airlifted to hospital where doctors discovered he had water in his lungs and sedated him for four days in intensive care.

He went home on September 21 and is hoping to return to work in a month.

"It’s nice to know people are so willing to help someone who’s in trouble even if they don’t know them.

He wants the race, which he has entered 12 times, to continue despite his accident and hopes to return as a spectator next year.

"It’s a great race and raises so much for charity."