Bristol man trapped in Welsh cave for 54 hours tells GMB viewers it'll 'always be with him'

  • George Linnane on his plans to train as a cave rescuer on Good Morning Britain

A man from Bristol who spent more than two days trapped after falling in a Welsh cave has spoken about his plans to train as a cave rescue volunteer on Good Morning Britain (GMB).

When George Linnane became trapped in Britain's deepest cave system in November last year, it took 300 people 54 hours to free him.

When Mr Linnane woke up after the fall, he had life-threatening injuries and could not move.

He broke his leg, jaw and ribs in a fall after going caving with a group in Ogof Ffynnon Ddu.

He also suffered a dislocated clavicle, lacerated spleen, collapsed lung and a broken scaphoid in his wrist.

250 people from cave rescue teams from across the UK worked for more than 50 hours to bring Mr Linnane to the surface Credit: PA

When appearing on ITV's Good Morning Britain today, he said: "Initially after the fall, for the first three hours or so I wasn't sure I was going to make it, but once the help started arriving I thought I might.

He continued: "The first 16 or 18 hours I don't remember, probably due to hypothermia and shock, but when I did wake up I was down near the underground river that runs through the cave and then I remember quite a lot of it."

'I held his hand': Rescuer describes 53 hour Brecon Beacons cave operation
Man trapped in Welsh cave for 54 hours joins rescue team that saved him

Rescue volunteers from all over the country went to Mr Linnane's aid and he said he remembered seeing familiar faces from the Forest of Dean, Mendips and Yorkshire.

Eventually rescuers were able to get him onto a stretcher and he was pulled out of the cave, with rescuers forming a line and passing him along.

He is still recovering from his injuries but the engineer told GMB he is now training to become a rescue volunteer himself.

George Linnane Credit: Andy Torbet/britishdiver.co.uk

When asked if he thinks he will ever get over the near-death experience, he said: "I imagine it'll always be with me in some way.

"I did have one night in hospital where I didn't get a wink of sleep because I kept on remembering it in my head and thought I had PTSD.

"But it actually only lasted one night and then it went away. I think one of the reasons is because I've talked about it a lot which has helped my brain to process it so it's not currently weighing on my mind."

Teams worked in shifts to rescue George Linnane Credit: PA

George said he wants to join the rescue team which saved him as a way to 'give back'.

"I'd like to be able to help the next poor soul that it happens to. While caving is a very safe sport, clearly this sort of thing can happen very occasionally", he said.

"When it does, it would be nice for me to give something back. Having been on the receiving end of it, maybe I've got something to offer that not many people have."