NEWPORT Gwent Dragons number eight Ed Jackson has described the moment he was pulled from a swimming pool after an accident that left him with no movement in his legs or power in his arms.

The 28-year-old is in hospital in the west of England and has set up a Facebook page to document his recovery from the accident on April 8.

Jackson was recovering from shoulder surgery when he dived into the shallow end of a pool at a friend's house.

"After hitting my head on the bottom I realised I couldn't swim to the surface because I'd lost movement in my legs and power in my arms," wrote Jackson, who came through the Bath academy and has previously played for Doncaster, London Welsh and Wasps.

“After hitting my head on the bottom I realised I couldn't swim to the surface because I'd lost movement in my legs and power in my arms.

“My dad (a retired GP) and friend Dafydd immediately knew something was wrong, pulled me to the surface and stabilised me in the pool until the ambulance came.

South Wales Argus:

“I was transferred to Southmead Hospital with a fracture dislocation at the C6/7 joint.

"After a number of MRI scans and X-rays the doctors decided to operate at 2am to stabilise my neck as pressure was being put on my spinal cord.

“In surgery they removed my shattered disc, relocated my vertebrae and fixed it in place with a metal plate.

“I woke up in intensive care, luckily completely coherent, however [with] no feeling below my neck other than limited movement in my right arm.

“You never think this is ever going to happen to you, but it did. Now I've got to deal with it. This is my road to recovery...”

Strong-running back row forward Jackson has been a huge hit since arriving at Rodney Parade from Wasps in the summer of 2015.

A popular and influential member of the squad, the Millfield-educated Englishman has made 36 appearances was rewarded with a two-year contract extension in December.

Jackson enjoyed a superb first half of the campaign but hasn’t played since the loss at Brive in January because of a shoulder injury with the Dragons missing his ball carrying.