A TEENAGE footballer from Pickering has thanked Yorkshire Air Ambulance for coming to his aid after a tackle went wrong and resulted in serious injury.

Harry Sollitt-Bevan, from Pickering, was 15 when he was playing football for his local team, Thornton Dale under 16s, in a friendly match against West Pier, in Flixton, near Scarborough.

A bad tackle resulted in Harry, now 16, suffering a double compound leg fracture.

Julian Bevan, Harry’s dad, said: “There was no malice, it was a 50/50 challenge that simply went wrong."

The football club called the emergency services and due to the serious nature of the fracture, Yorkshire Air Ambulance was dispatched.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Julian said Harry continued to have a smile on his face, laughing and joking with those coming to his aid throughout.

"Harry was incredibly brave, he never cried or said anything, he just got on with it," said the dad.

"I think I was struggling more than him!” 

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After administering vital pain relief, a decision was made to fly Harry to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough for further treatment.

As soon as he arrived at the hospital, Harry was rushed in for emergency surgery to clean the wound.

A second operation then took place the following day to pin his leg.

Harry, a student at Malton School, underwent nearly 16 hours of surgery and was in the hospital for two weeks.

He is currently wearing a Lazarus frame to help his injury heal.

The frame is applied to the outside of the limb and connected through the unbroken part of the bone to provide stability and help it heal.

Harry will be in the frame for six-months and is looking at up to a year for a full recovery. 

Despite recovery being in its very early stages, he is already looking ahead.

Harry has his mind set on fundraising for Yorkshire Air Ambulance to say thank you for coming to his aid.

“As soon as we reached the hospital, Harry said that he wanted to fundraise for the air ambulance. I don’t think he even realised how much they rely on public generosity until we had a chat about ideas”, said Julian.

Julian expressed his gratitude to those involved in Harry's care.

He said: “Everyone involved in his care has been amazing and that started on the pitch with Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

“They were brilliant, and we cannot thank them enough for picking Harry up and taking him to the hospital.”

Now, Harry is getting ready to return to school after half-term for his GCSE year.

He has already started to think of fundraising ideas for Yorkshire Air Ambulance, which have included a charity football match and bike ride.

For more information and to support Yorkshire Air Ambulance, visit www.yorkshireairambulance.org.uk