A Welsh rugby match had to be abandoned after a teenage player suffered a horrific injury.
Sion Davies fractured the femur in his right thigh during an under-14 match between his club Ammanford and Burry Port.
He had chased an opponent and dived to make a tackle in an effort to prevent a try when he collided with a goal post.
His father Talfan Davies said: "Sion was chasing the lad at full speed and managed to tackle him around the waist in front of the post.
"As the boy, who was bigger and powerful, was going to score the try he twisted and Sion, who is a little 13-year-old, was swung around with the momentum seeing him hit an upright.
"There was a protective pad on the post but Sion hit it with force. It was a freak accident, a whiplash injury.
"The crowd knew it was a bad one and you could hear the oohs and aahs from people."
The match was abandoned as the seriousness of the injury quickly became clear.
"We could see it was nasty and Sion's leg was out of line," said Mr Davies.
"Burry Port coach Phil Watts is a paramedic and was fantastic. There was also a guy there named Grant who happened to be from the Air Ambulance Service.
"Sion was quickly covered in blankets and people fetched hot water bottles to help keep him warm.
"There was a waiting time for a land ambulance so an air ambulance came from Welshpool.
"The crew were on the scene for about half an hour after it arrived. They drugged Sion up so he was out and put his leg back in line.
"They were going to fly him to hospital but, amazingly, Sion wasn't in pain.
"Luckily, it had gone so it was decided to transport him to Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen by road."
Sion had the fractured femur pinned and plated in an operation last Monday and was released from hospital the following day.
Dad Talfan, who is physical education teacher at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman in Ammanford, where Sion is a pupil and was the school of Wales' record try-scorer Shane Williams, said: "I'm used to dealing with injuries in my job but yesterday was a different role because it was my son.
"You don't see this type of injury too often and I was slightly emotional but the people dealing with it were so level-headed.
"The service provided by the air ambulance, the Welsh Ambulance Service, the National Health Service and staff at the hospital has been excellent.
"We will be paying a visit to the air ambulance base to thank staff when Sion is fit enough, and I will be making a donation to the Welsh Air Ambulance Charitable Trust which provides this vital service.
"It's important people recognise and support it because it really is fantastic and it's funded by the public."
Mr Davies also paid tribute to Sion's club coach Gareth Potter, a WRU hub officer who is also defence coach of Indigo Group Welsh Premiership club Llandovery and was performance analyst at the Scarlets for nearly 11 years.
"Gareth's support and care for Sion was first-class - he was lying on the floor with him for an hour and a half."
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