A 12-year-old boy says he is "lucky to be alive" after a metal spring from a trampoline shot into his back.

Jamie Quinlan, from Lincolnshire, was bouncing on a friend's trampoline on Saturday when the spring broke off and became embedded in his back.

He said he felt a "very strange" sensation in his back followed by "a lot of pain".

His father, Ian, from Louth, said his "heart dropped, [and] sank down to my knees" when he saw the accident.

Jamie said the spring was "so heavy" and added he could not believe "I've been through all this".

"It must be rarer than a lightning strike," the schoolboy said.

"I was lucky that the hook actually broke off or it could've been a lot worse."

He was taken to hospital with the spring still impaled in his back. It was removed in a 10-hour operation under local anaesthetic.

"It was very, very scary," said Mr Quinlan.

"My heart was in my boots.

"It could've been his neck or his head so we were very, very lucky. Very lucky indeed and thank our lucky stars it wasn't more serious."

The schoolboy said he had been playing in his friend's garden with several other children when he came up with the idea of all of them jumping on the trampoline "at the same time".

He said he had no idea the spring had ripped through his T-shirt and was lodged in his back.

"All my friends looked shocked," he said.

Mr Quinlan urged other parents to be vigilant after the freak accident.

"Because they all bounced at once, the trampoline went very low and the spring came away.

"So just be vigilant and watch what's going on."

The youngster was discharged from hospital soon after surgery.

He added: "I am a lot better than I was when I had a spring in my back."

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