A 24-year-old man who survived an 80ft tumble down a Welsh gorge is facing surgery and weeks of recovery after his ordeal.

Alex Catt, a deputy manager at Pizza Hut in Norwich's Riverside, lay in the gorge for eight hours before he was rescued by the South Snowdonia Search and Rescue Team on September 8.

Mr Catt, who lives in Prince of Wales Road, sustained a series of injuries in the fall including a broken left leg and ankle, two broken ribs, damage to his kidney and spleen, a dislocated shoulder, cuts and bruises and a black eye.

Eastern Daily Press: Alexander Catt, an executive for the Norwich Green Party, who has thanked NHS staff and a rescue teams after he plummeted 80ft down a gorge in Wales.Alexander Catt, an executive for the Norwich Green Party, who has thanked NHS staff and a rescue teams after he plummeted 80ft down a gorge in Wales. (Image: Supplied by Alexander Catt.)

Speaking from the Royal Stoke University Hospital, the Green Party executive said he hopes to return home following surgery to remove an external frame from his broken leg.

"I'm hoping the surgery won't be too long. I will also need physiotherapy," he said.

It is understood recovery treatment could take up to six weeks and Mr Catt hopes to be transferred to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital for ongoing physiotherapy.

Eastern Daily Press: The volunteers who helped rescue Alexander Catt, from Norwich, from a Welsh gorge on September 8, 2021The volunteers who helped rescue Alexander Catt, from Norwich, from a Welsh gorge on September 8, 2021 (Image: South Snowdonia Search and Rescue Team)

He fell into the gorge below Pistyll Cain while on holiday with his parents.

The frightening accident happened at around 2pm after he went ahead of them.

He said: "I came to a bit that was incredibly slippery and it took me straight to the bottom.

"I allowed myself to panic for about five minutes and then let my mature-self take over to make sure I did the right thing.

"I've got some first aid experience - the priority was to make sure I didn't go into shock and I got water - that was how I was going to stay alive until someone could find me."

He was rescued after eight hours and used the what3words app to communicate his exact location to his parents who sent that on to rescue teams.


Mr Catt added: "I was close to deleting the app before the holiday but that saved my life. I would urge people to download it."

The University of East Anglia graduate thanked support from people through social media and hoped to return to full fitness.

"I'm not scared of going out walking again," he added defiantly.