Richard Hammond telling story of almost dying in coma is hitting people hard

When Richard Hammond was rushed to hospital in 2006, following a deadly crash while filming for Top Gear, it made global headlines.

But did you know about the life-affirming experience he had while he was in a coma for two weeks?

The horrific accident left the presenter in a vegetative state for some time and, for a brief moment, it looked as though he wasn't going to make it.

But while doctors were doing all they could to help with his recovery, it turns out Richard was experiencing a vivid dream about the Lake District.

Speaking to YouTube channel What Next?, the TV star spoke about his memory of the coma.

"In hospital, intensive care, things were apparently not looking very good, but I didn't know. There was a lot of morphine floating around my system", he said.

"I finally woke and I shared with my wife Mindy a dream I'd been having. A really, really vivid one - probably, partly, on a count of the morphine.

"And in my mind I'd been walking these hills here in the Lake District, overlooking Buttermere. I was having a lovely time strolling along and gradually I got a growing sense of — you know when you know you're in trouble? That feeling grew and grew."

What Next?

As Richard walked further up the slope, towards one particular tree, the feeling of trouble got stronger.

He remembers it 'grew and grew until eventually in my dream I turned back... and then I woke.'

After Richard told his wife Mindy about his dream, she told him what had been happening at the same time in the hospital room.

"She had been called into intensive care and told 'Mrs Hammond, I'm really sorry. Things aren't looking good... we're going to lose him.'"

When told there was nothing she could do to help, Mindy asked if she could try shouting at him.

"And she did. And apparently she roared and screamed and swore at me 'don't you dare die'. And that's when I turned back from this tree in my dream. And that's when I woke."

Despite his brush with death, Richard has said that he now takes 'huge solace' from it, knowing that his last moments will be in a place he loves.

"My last thought took me somewhere I love and somewhere I'm happy", he said.

"And that last thought, if I had shut down and stopped, would have echoed, as far as I was concerned, for all of eternity. And I've found immense comfort from it ever since.

What Next?

"I'm not scared of this old tree. I pass it regularly... every time I pass it, I do feel comforted. I know it's where I'll go."

Richard's story has moved fans in ways they weren't expecting, with some viewers confessing that it left them a little teary-eyed.

"Wow….hairs on the back of the neck stuff", tweeted one viewer.

"Please someone pass me the tissues. This is really lovely and emotional", wrote a second.

"Quite frankly this is one of the most stunningly beautiful stories I’ve ever heard", added a third.

While most people were left feeling rather emotional after watching, one or two took away a different message.

"I'll be honest," one viewer admitted. "My main take from that tale is that being in trouble with your wife is *literally* a fate worse than death."