06 March 2023 , 23:11
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An injured surfer branded a "top bloke" has spoken out about his grim ordeal after he was attacked by a seal.
Nathan Phillips, 42, was out paddling when he suddenly found himself harassed by a seal in Porthleven, Cornwall, on Friday, March 3.
The surfer's horror injury meant he felt the back of his foot hit the back of his badly broken leg.
The incident occurred when Nathan suddenly felt the creature pulling on his board's leash, which sent it careering into his leg and snapping it clean in two.
Injured and "freaked out", Alex was helped back to shore by a friend, where his open wound had to be treated with antibiotics.
Man who was attacked by seal and broke leg in waves 'too tall' for air ambulance
Unfortunately, his 6ft 2in frame left him unable to fit inside the smaller-than-usual replacement Cornwall Air Ambulance that was sent to pick him up.
Nathan felt the back of his foot hit his leg (Martin Mynne / SWNS)
The keen and experienced surfer got into difficulty last week (Martin Mynne / SWNS)Nathan said: "I had just been paddling out and something started tugging on my leash. It kind of freaked me out because I didn't know what it was," PlymouthLive reports.
"After I worked out that it was a seal and fended it off - it was just playing I think, but a wave then crashed down on me just after at a weird angle and sent my board flying into my shin."
One of Nathan's friends thought the sound of his leg snapping was his surfboard breaking (Martin Mynne / SWNS)He added from his bed at Derriford Hospital: "I remembered my mate saying he thought my board had snapped because of the sound - but then I realised it had been my shin when I felt my foot hitting the back of my leg.
"I just started screaming with pain, and my mate dragged me onto his board and told me to start paddling back to shore. After dragging him behind me to the coast I sat there for maybe 40 minutes, and was eventually treated by medics - it was so painful, and I had to wait even longer in my mate's van while I waited for an ambulance after I couldn't fit in the air ambulance."
'I just started screaming with pain,' Alex said (Martin Mynne / SWNS)
Nathan was too big to fit in the air ambulance (Nathan Phillips / SWNS)Eventually, Nathan was taken to the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Treliske for an operation.
He said: "I'm in hospital now waiting for my next surgery - but I just had to thank everyone for helping me out."
Recognising their friend's pain, mates Alec and Jason set up a GoFundMe for Nathan, who is expecting a second child with his partner.
His wound had to be treated with antibiotics (Martin Mynne / SWNS)In 2021, Nathan became known for donating surfboards to a young boy and his dad who were travelling in a car that caught fire on the A30.
Alec said: "He's just such a top bloke, we just wanted to do whatever we could to help him out. He's currently on morphine waiting for surgery so the least we could do would be to set up a page to try and raise some money for him.
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"He and his partner are expecting their next child in only a few weeks too, so it's not the best time.
Nathan's friends have rallied around him (Martin Mynne / SWNS)
Thousands have already been raised for Nathan (Martin Mynne / SWNS)Donations have flooded in from the surfing community and there are already funds of £4,800 raised.
Nathan's friend Jason Dreyer said: "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."
As for the troublesome seal who attacked Nathan, Alec said the creature is just "inquisitive".
He added: "We do get a lot of seals down here in Cornwall and they do try and play with you or mess about with you a bit sometimes. They're inquisitive."