British actor Paul Nicholls has been rescued after being trapped at the bottom of a waterfall in Thailand for three days.
The 38-year-old, best known for his roles as Joe Wicks in Eastenders and DS Sam Casey in Law And Order: UK, fell from the top of a waterfall and smashed his leg whilst visiting the island of Koh Samui.
Bolton-born Nicholls was found by a local after they spotted his abandoned rental motorbike near to the scene of the incident. Police traced it to the actor's real name, Gerrard Paul Greenhalgh, which prompted a search operation.
He requires a complete knee reconstruction as a result of his injuries after being discovered partially submerged in a rock pool, semi-conscious, but he told The Sun he was 'lucky to be alive'.
Credit: Koh Samui Police
He said: "It took such a long time to find me. It's an understatement to say it wasn't a great situation... The problem was I couldn't move to get out of there.
"I had a phone with me but I fell from such a height into the water it was unretrievable."
Credit: Koh Samui Police
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At the time of his rescue he had not eaten for three days and was suffering with hypothermia.
Emergency services took two hours to get to him and then transfer him to the International Koh Samui hospital. He will be flown back to the UK next week.
The waterfall is notorious for dangerous incidents, last month American tourist Geoffrey Maui, 28, was killed after falling in the same spot.
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