A MAN lucky to be alive after surviving a 100ft plunge down an abandoned quarry in a jeep where he lay for two days is still recovering in hospital.

The 50-year-old from Beaufort, Ebbw Vale, miraculously escaped with minor injuries after his Daihatsu Fourtrak plummeted down the disused Ystrad quarry in Trefil, near Tredegar on Tuesday.

He lay there until a passer-by on Wednesday alerted the emergency services and a dramatic rescue was launched which ended with the man being flown by air ambulance, scrambled from its Swansea base, to the Nevill Hall Hospital in Abergavenny.

The rescue teams scaled down the rocky cliff face to reach the jeep.

They said if his vehicle had rolled another 30ft it would have dropped down a sheer 150ft drop.

The man, who is not being named by the hospital, was treated for suspected dehydration and hypothermia.

Yesterday a spokesman for the Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust said the man was in a comfortable position in Nevill Hall and was expected to remain there for a few more days.

A spokeswoman from Gwent Police said there would be no police investigation into the incident.