A CHAMPION kitesurfer who cheated death in a horror crash is competing again at the highest level just six months on,

Doctors were unsure if 31-year-old Lewis Crathern was going to survive after being placed in an induced coma following an accident in February.

The Worthing man had been competing at the Red Bull King of the Air competition in February in Cape Town, South Africa, when he plunged 20ft into the water, knocking himself unconscious.

He began to drown and his lungs filled with water before being pulled from the sea.

Doctors placed him in a medically-induced coma due to suffering from severe hypoxia as result of the water he swallowed.

His prognosis was not good with suspected multiple organ damage, and severe damage to his lung tissues caused by the salt water he inhaled.

His mother, Sandra Crathern, 56, feared the worst and flew the 6,000 miles from her Worthing home to be by his bedside.

She said: “They were telling us he was in an induced coma and didn’t know if he had brain damage.”

She recalls “I saw just loads of tubes. Even though I’m a nurse, I think I was just in shock."

He remained in a coma for a week before doctors decided he was fit enough to be woken. But when he did he soon started his recovery.

The four-time freestyle British champion described his near-death experience as "pretty close" but said he was determined to get back in the water.

However, he said the accident changed his perspective. He said: “It has definitely given me a new outlook on my family and friends and what they mean to me.”

He made an emotional return to his hometown of Worthing for the WOO Global Individual Height Leaderboard last week.

Speaking from the event he told of his love for his hometown.

He said: “When these conditions occur it’s simply the best place to kitesurf in the world."

Over the Bank Holiday weekend Lewis has been competing at the Kite Clash in Vancouver.