A skydiver who fell 15,000ft when his parachute failed to open survived - thanks to a blackberry bush.

Michael Holmes, 25, who fell at a speed of 100mph says the thick brambles saved his life.

Speaking to the Sun, he said: “I can’t wait to jump again. This won’t put me off.”

Michael, from Jersey, added: “It was a normal jump until I tried to release my parachute at 4,000ft. It didn’t open and it didn’t cut away.

“When my reserve failed to open at 1,000ft I thought my life was over.

“You do not have much time to say goodbye. I said, ‘S**t, I’m going to die’. The next thing I remember is seeing a friend, firemen, ambulances and police dogs. I’m glad to be alive.”

Michael escaped with a punctured lung and broken ankle in the plunge at Taupo on New Zealand’s North Island. He is recovering in hospital.

Michael, who had jumped with a helmet camera to film another parachutist, described the film of his fall as “awesome, in a sadistic kind of way”.

Source: Ananova