Skydiver Holly Wiffen, 35, was knocked unconscious mid-air after a fellow parachutist accidentally kicked her in the head during a jump near Nottingham on 7 August, sending her plummeting roughly 10,000ft without control. She survived only because she crashed into a conifer tree that broke her fall, an escape so unlikely that medical staff and fellow jumpers feared she would not survive. The incident highlights the inherent risks of skydiving even for highly experienced participants, and Wiffen says she intends to return to the sport despite her injuries.

Wiffen, a dental therapist with 425 jumps to her name, was performing a "tracking" manoeuvre with around eight others when a collision left her unconscious and falling at speeds of up to 150mph. Her reserve parachute deployed automatically at low altitude, but a "downplane" effect from two chutes opening left her still travelling at 40-50mph when she struck the tree, breaking her leg and fracturing her spine. She was rushed to hospital, operated on six days later, and is now recovering at her parents' farm, saying she "cannot wait" to skydive again.