Groom almost died after 100ft fall from cliff two days before £45k Greece wedding

A British groom-to-be had to cancel his £45k after falling 100ft down a cliff just days before, while walking back to his hotel in Santorini, .

Jake Elliot nearly lost his life when he jumped onto the coastal wall to avoid some passers-by, he lost his footing and tumbled down the 30-metre drop and had to be rushed to with a broken back and legs and seven broken ribs. His fiancee Robyn Stanley was terrified she was going to lose him, as he was airlifted to Athens hospital the following day.

Jake, 41, had surgery to drain fluid from his lungs and was flown in air ambulance home to the UK two weeks later. He spent a further nine days in William Harvey Hospital, in Ashford, Kent, before coming home.

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The pair were unable to wed as intended in May 2023, in Santorini - surrounded by the 52 guests who had flown out to celebrate with them. They finally tied the knot a year - £60k later - in Greece and say it was an "incredible" and "emotional" day.

Robyn, a 39-year-old full-time content creator, from Folkestone, Kent, said: "He was a few feet from getting home [to the hotel]. There was a small wall and over the wall was a sheer drop. We'd all made jokes about how dangerous we thought it was. It's a single path. They were walking back and people were walking towards them He jumped on the wall and slipped off. I didn't think he'd be alive."

Jake, a senior construction manager, said: "I remember falling and trying to grab the cliff on the way down. I could hear one of my groomsmen shouting Jake. I remember trying to shout back but I couldn't. When I fell it collapsed my lung. Once I realised the wedding wasn't going to happen the guilt kicked in. I was blessed I hadn't died but I had ruined the wedding."

Jake and Robyn were in Santorini for their destination wedding with all the family and friends and their two children - Cannon, 11, and Cass, eight - in May 2023. Jake's friends rushed back to the hotel and told Robyn the news.

She said: "It was an out of body experience - I just started screaming. The police had turned up - I thought he was dead. When I saw him he was talking. He'd broken his back and didn't know if he could walk. I remember being gutted [that we couldn't get married]."

But when Jake's spleen ruptured he had to be rushed to a hospital in Athens to be treated. Robyn said: "When that happened I thought 'I don't care about that stupid wedding now - I don't want him to die'."

Robyn was desperate to get Jake home to the UK for treatment but they were waiting for their insurance as he wasn't fit to fly. Jake had too much fluid on his lungs so doctors in Athens had to operate and put lung drains on him.

The pair finally tied the knot just over a year on June, 5 2024. Robyn said: "Me and Jake went back on our own for four days in October. We didn't want the first time we went back to be the wedding. We put the demons to rest.

"Our wedding was incredible. It was a journey to get there for sure."

Jake said: "Pretty much everyone who came the year before was there. I was very emotional. The day was magical. The whole thing gives you a new perspective on life."