A PROMISING golfer who nearly died after an horrific attack has battled back to fitness and a bright future on the fairways. It is three years since James Gurry was set upon by a knife-wielding mugger and fell more than 50ft from a third-floor balcony leaving him with broken legs and broken back.

A PROMISING golfer who nearly died after an horrific attack has battled back to fitness and a bright future on the fairways.

It is three years since James Gurry was set upon by a knife-wielding mugger and fell more than 50ft from a third-floor balcony leaving him with broken legs and broken back.

The horrific ordeal in Marbella, Spain, left the former Tendring High School pupil wondering whether he would be able to walk again, let alone pick up his clubs.

But the former Essex boys county golf champion from Frinton has defied the odds and is now back in the swing as a golf professional.

Speaking yesterday, Mr Gurry, 28, said he was still hoping to qualify for the European tour.

He said: "My mother had passed away and I decided to up and leave for the warmer climate and was working out in Spain.

"It was great as I could golf 12 months of the year and I lived on the course and everything was set up.

"My golf was getting good, then the mishap came. My recovery has been quite rapid and my goal is to be on the European tour within the next five to 10 years.

"I was told the day after the accident that the surgeon who operated on me thought it was very doubtful that I would walk again which was a bit of a shock at the time but I thought 'sod that', I have to walk again because I wanted to play golf."

After a long period of rehabilitation, which saw Mr Gurry go from his wheelchair to crutches and finally back onto his feet, he picked up a golf club about a year after the fall.

He now has two metal rods in his back, spanning five vertebrae, and metal pins in his leg, meaning he lives with a constant reminder of what happened.

But he has defied the odds in five Eastern Region Order of Merit events, qualifying every time.

Alongside his sport he is a partner and senior golf instructor at a Colchester golf store set to start trading this week.

This Friday sees the official opening of the Essex-Golf which boasts the ultra-modern technology of an "impact analyser", designed to bring out the best in anyone's swing whether they are a hacker or a Tiger Woods in-training.

Company director, Joe Dunn, said: "James is lucky to be alive and we are incredibly lucky to have him working with us. He is a real fighter and determined to make the most of every opportunity he gets."

Essex-Golf is holding an open day on the impact analyser on Friday at the Seedbed Business Centre, Wyncolls Road, Colchester.