Hippo attack survivor's new outlook on life

Roland and Shirley Cherry travelled to Africa for a holiday in June

"You can't just take in life, you have to give back."

A brush with death may often afford a changed outlook, and the perspective adopted by Roland Cherry is the kind that's not unheard of.

But the particular events that led him to it really don't happen every day. The 63-year-old was on a holiday of a lifetime with his wife when their canoe was flipped by a hippo, causing him serious injury.

Now the couple, from Warwickshire, are hosting a series of talks on their trip in an attempt to raise money to buy a new ambulance for the mission that he thinks probably saved his life.

They set off on the adventure in June and were on a canoe safari along the Kafue River when the submerged animal attacked.

Mrs Cherry managed to swim to safety, but her husband was dragged to the bottom of the river by the hippo.

Speaking after the attack, he said: "I do remember thinking 'oh no, what a way to go, I'm not ready to die' and I thought this was it, because nobody survives hippo attacks.

"We know subsequently from fellow travellers I was grabbed again and thrown through the air like a rag doll but towards the bank which was the godsend.

"I remember looking down at my legs thinking: 'That's not good'.

"There was bits of flesh sticking out of my torn shorts and blood over my abdomen."

Nurses told Mr Cherry most people did not survive attacks by hippos

Mr Cherry was taken to the nearby Mtendere Mission Hospital and had surgery within 90 minutes, which he said "probably saved my life".

"These gave me everything they had," he said.

"They didn't ask for my credit cards or my insurance details.

"They just said: 'Mr Cherry you're in a bad way and we're going to help you'."

Mr Cherry was later transferred to a hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa, where nurses told him they had never met anyone who had been attacked by a hippo, because most incidents were fatal.

Mr Cherry said treatment at Mtendere Mission Hospital "probably" saved his life

Having already raised about £31,000, the couple are hoping to gather another £10,000, which will help the hospital maintain a new ambulance.

"We’re doing this to make sure they're able to do that again for the next person," Mr Cherry said.

"They did it as an act of kindness to their fellow citizens.

"This wasn't a commercial exchange, it was about what a mission hospital does in the back quarters of Africa.

"So when I sat in my hospital bed in Johannesburg I vowed that I needed to give something back.

"You can't just take in life, you've got to give back and that's been the theme of what Shelly and I set out to do."

The couple's next talk is at 19:00 BST on Thursday in Oxhill Village Hall in Warwickshire.