A GREEENOCK schoolboy is lucky to be alive after he fell 30 feet from the top of a five storey block of flats while playing with friends inside the close.

Ten-year-old Jack McPherson had climbed onto the outside of a bannister when he lost his grip and tumbled to the ground.

Miraculously, the youngster escaped from the horror fall with a broken elbow and two hairline fractures in both his skull and his pelvis.

His shocked mum Elizabeth told the Tele how she feared the worst when she raced to the Prospecthill Street flat and found her son slumped on the floor.

Elizabeth, 37, of Broomhill Court, said: “He is very lucky to be alive.

“Neighbours came to my door to tell me what had happened and we all ran down.

“He has some terrible injuries but it could have been so much worse.

“He was playing with friends and I think he was climbing on the outside — he will never do that again.

“Neighbours came to tell me what had happened and we all ran to the scene.” Jack had been playing with friends in a close in nearby Prospecthill Street when he took an almighty tumble.

His mum added: “He cannot remember what happened. We are so shocked at what has happened.” Jack was taken to Yorkhill Hospital for treatment and had to undergo an operation to have pins put in his elbow.

His dad Drew said: “He also has bruises to his face and his knees and he had to have his chin glued.

“They thought at first that he had broken his jaw.” Jack was released from hospital last Tuesday but was told by doctors that it could be at least two months before he can return to school.

Since the accident the family have been overwhelmed by the response from the community.

Jack’s classmates at Whinhill Primary have sent him a get well soon card and neighbours in Broomhill Court, where the family are staying at the moment, even put up a banner in the yard to cheer him up.

Elizabeth said: “The local community has been amazing.

“They have been coming to our door to see how he is.

“It has been quite a time, as we are staying in Broomhill Court just now to look after my mum who has had a stroke.”