After breaking his pelvis in a fall from the roof of Oxford’s Crown Court, scaffolder Gavin Eldridge could be forgiven for being a little wary of tall buildings.

But the 27-year-old from Witney is abseiling 100ft down Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital to raise money for the hospital’s special care baby unit, where staff cared for his twins after they were born 14 weeks prematurely.

Evie and Calum were born at the JR on August 31, after Jessica, 27, went into labour at 26 weeks.

Evie weighed just 1lb 13oz while Calum weighed 2lb 7oz, and they needed round-the-clock care at the special care baby unit.

On September 16, Mr Eldridge fell 12 feet from scaffolding he was helping to dismantle on to the roof of the court, fracturing his pelvis.

He was lowered to the ground on a stretcher.

Ironically, Mr Edldridge was in hospital at the same time as his daughters.

Mrs Eldridge, of Burwell Meadow, Witney, said: “Gavin was in the trauma unit and was unable to move from his bed for 10 days, so he couldn’t see the twins.

“I spent a lot of time walking between the two different parts of the hospital so I could keep Gavin up to date with how the twins were doing.

“It was very frustrating for him not to be able to see the twins, but he was lucky he wasn’t more seriously hurt — he couldn’t walk again until December 11.”

Mrs Eldridge said she thought her husband was “quite brave” to sign up for the abseil from the roof of the women’s centre on Sunday.

She added: “The nursing staff in the special care baby unit were amazing — I’m convinced they saved the twins’ lives.

“They kept a diary of what the twins were doing during the day so I could take it across to show Gavin in the evening.”

Mrs Eldridge said the twins were now perfectly healthy, with Evie weighing 9lb 7oz and Calum 12lb 5oz.

Mr Eldridge, who works for his father’s scaffolding firm, added: “It was very hard not being able to see the twins for 10 days, but the nursing staff were fantastic — a lot of them are young women in their 20s with a great deal of responsibilty.

“I think they are worth a million dollars and wanted to do something to raise money for the unit.

“The fall knocked my confidence a bit and I was a bit nervous when I first went back to work.

“I expect I will be a bit nervous on the day of the abseil, but it will be worth it to raise money for staff at the unit, who do a fantastic job.

“Both the twins were home by December and after all we had been through, Christmas was perfect.”

Seven separate funds and charities, all linked to the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals, have organised the abseil down the JR’s women's centre on Sunday.

Julie Da Silva Moore, a spokesman for SSNAP, the charity which supports the special care baby unit, said: “I think Gavin is remarkably brave to do this abseil to raise funds for the unit.

“Lots of fundraising we receive is from parents whose babies have been in the unit. Parents know that our specialist equipment needs updating regularly.”

  • People can choose which charity they abseil for, including special care babies, care for the elderly, children with brain tumours, adult cancers, people with mental health problems and the surgical emergency unit.

Places cost £10 and abseilers are asked to attempt to raise £100.

For more details, call Cynthia Charlett on 01865 743444 or see the hospital website