YOUNG Ellie Donaldson and her parents are counting their lucky stars today after the seven-year-old escaped potentially horrific injuries when she fell 15ft off a sea wall on to her back.

Doctors described her as the “luckiest girl in the world” according to her mother Tracy, following the drama at Frinton, on Saturday.

The Lexden Primary School pupil was on the beach with a family party of up to 20 who had gone to the Essex resort for the day.

The tide was coming in so they moved towards the back of the beach and up on to the wall close to the seaward side of High Street.

Ellie suddenly disappeared over the edge and her father Vince, 54, just failed to grab his daughter by the legs as she plunged headlong on to a concrete step, falling on her back.

Emergency services, including an air ambulance, rushed to the scene and she was taken to Colchester General Hospital by paramedics from the ambulance service.

She was examined and diagnosed with severe bruising and amnesia and yesterday was resting at her home in Clairmont Road, Colchester, where her 38-year-old mother said her daughter was still traumatised by the accident.

She has a large graze and bruise from shoulder to shoulder, and grazes and contusions on her back, arms, leg and head.

“I cannot believe how lucky we are for her injuries to have been so minor, taking into account how far she fell, and nothing was broken,” Tracy said.

“Her guardian angel was definitely looking after her and I want to say a massive thank-you to the lifeguards, paramedics and doctors who were so amazing. They do a fantastic job.”