A dad who fell from the top of a tree while climbing with his son suffered massive brain injuries and is lying in a coma.

Dwaine Elliott, 32, has been in a critical condition since the accident near Pill when he fell more than 25ft.

Doctors have told his former partner, Caroline Pinnock, 42, and their son Jacob, nine, that he is brain dead.

He fell after climbing the copper beech tree with Jacob and his friends Matthew Woodward and Tobias Burt.

Tobias and Jacob were in the lower branches, about six feet above the ground, Matthew was a couple of branches up and Mr Elliott was near the top.

Jacob said: "He had one branch to go from the top, and he put his foot on it. It was quite thin, and we shouted 'come down, it is going to break'.

"He put his weight on it and it snapped.Then I blanked out, and I don't know what happened."

Mr Elliott fell, feet first, through the branches of the tree, colliding with all three boys.

He grabbed a branch but slipped, and as he fell he caught Tobias in the eye with his foot and knocked Matthew's ankle.

He then landed across his own son, hitting his head on the trunk and trapping Jacob underneath his body.

Jacob said: "I tried to get my legs out and jumped out of the tree, and Matthew and I went on our bikes to get help."

Tobias, left at the scene because his bike chain was broken, said: "I stayed there for five minutes but I was scared because Dwaine was stuck in the tree and Matthew and Jacob had gone.

"I was looking up at him and he was bleeding quite badly, so I ran off to get help."

Tobias found a group of teenagers, who came back with him to help Dwaine.

Jacob and Matthew knocked on people's doors and a man called an ambulance.

Mr Elliott, of Malago Road, Bedminster, was then flown by air ambulance to Frenchay Hospital where last night he remained in a critical condition.

Miss Pinnock, who separated from Mr Elliott in 2004 and lives in Glyn Vale, Bedminster, said she was devastated when doctors told her of his condition.

She said: "My whole world just sank. My heart sank, my soul sank, and I couldn't comprehend what they were saying.

"They said paramedics had tried to resuscitate him at the scene, but when they got him to hospital and gave him a brain scan there was no brain activity.

"They said he is in an induced coma, as it was too dangerous for them to operate on him.

"Jacob was absolutely broken-hearted, and was crying his eyes out.

"It was so hard for him, as the other two boys' dads had rushed to see them and he was on his own."

Jacob, known as Jake to his friends, said he didn't believe the doctors when they gave him the news.

He said: "This lady told me my dad was dead. I was really sad, but I didn't think he was, because my dad is really brave so I thought he would stay alive."

The parents of Jacob's friends Matthew, 10, of Lambourn Close, Windmill Hill, and Tobias, eight, of Malago Road, Bedminster, have hailed all three "brave little heroes" for rushing to get help for Mr Elliott. The boys, all pupils at St Mary Redcliffe Primary School, were taken to Bristol Children's Hospital, and Tobias had stitches put in his cut eye.

Tobias's mum Helen, 37, of Malago Road, said: "We are very proud of him and how he has dealt with it all."

His dad Toby, 33, said: "At the end of the day they are all little heroes for what they have done."

Matthew's mum, Alex, 33, said: "He has been asking a lot of questions about why it happened and if he had done things differently could he have saved Dwaine.

"I am extremely proud of Matthew, and I couldn't have asked for a better little boy."

Miss Pinnock says she is extremely grateful to the people who helped after the accident, especially the group of teenagers.

She said: "I don't know who they were, but I would like to say thank you on behalf of all the parents for looking after the boys while the ambulance came."

Miss Pinnock, a single mum who also has an older son, Joseph, said Mr Elliott had always wanted to climb the tree near Lodway Cricket Club at Ham Green.

She said: "It was something he said he would do, but none of us ever thought he would do it."