'I thought it would be fun, the next thing I blacked out'

A student nurse said she is 'lucky to be alive' after veering off a cliff on a quad bike in Greece.

Maddy Morris was visiting family on the island of Corfu with her best friend last month when the pair decided to hire a quad bike. The 24-year-old rented the bike for a week to explore the island and took the vehicle out one day to celebrate her birthday.

But around two hours into the ride, Maddy, who lives near Manchester, and her friend veered off the side of the road and over a cliff edge. They tumbled around 7ft onto the ground before the quad landed on top of them.

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Maddy said she 'thought she was going to die' before she 'blacked out'. Thankfully after a few minutes, some passers-by were able to lift the vehicle from on top of them and help them to safety.

The student, who was rushed to hospital on the Greek island, suffered a fractured scapula as well as a number of bruises and scrapes all over her body. She said she has no idea why the vehicle suddenly deviated off-track - blaming a mechanical fault or uneven terrain.

She has now spoken out to warn other holidaymakers of the dangers of hiring the 'deathtrap' bikes, and said her helmet saved her life. Describing the incident, Maddy said: "We were only driving 20mph so we weren't going fast or anything.

"I was driving and my friend was on the back. The day of the accident was actually my birthday.

"We were around an hour and a half into the drive and were up quite high, but far away from the edge. There were loads of cars overtaking us so we were going really slow. We just unexpectedly went off the edge of the cliff, luckily we landed on a ledge as the cliff went down to the sea.

"We were flown off and went down a 7ft drop then the quad bike ended up on top of us both. We don't know if it was a faulty bike or dodgy terrain or lost control of the steering.

"I thought I was going to die. I was seeing visions of people I loved as I was falling. I'd been on quad bikes before so knew how to drive them. It was very unexpected. We don't know why it tilted down the cliff."

Maddy and her friend were pinned underneath the quad bike for a few minutes until some passers-by ran to help.

Maddy said: "You never think something like this is going to happen to you. I must've blacked out because I remember waking up on the ground - it was very scary.

"The wheels were still running when it was on top of us so I think that's why I got so many injuries on my left side. I managed to squeeze out a bit through a gap as we were both pinned underneath it.

"We were pinned for a few minutes. Luckily there were people driving behind us who were able to push the quad bike from on top of us. We could've easily fallen further. I'm so glad I was wearing my helmet."

Maddy was left battered and bruised after the accident - suffering a fractured scapula as well as other superficial injuries. Now, the student is warning others to stay away from quad bikes after nearly losing her life last month.

Maddy said: "I thought I'd broken the whole left side of my body because I couldn't feel anything. I didn't have insurance so I've learned my lesson there - we had to pay for treatment.

"We self charged because we wanted to enjoy the rest of the week. It had ruined my birthday. I'll never go on a quad bike again.

"I thought I would be fine because I'd been on quad bikes before - and it's just the norm out there, everyone drives one. I thought I was safe.

"I wouldn't advise renting a quad bike to anyone. They're deathtraps. My helmet definitely saved my life."

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