Dai Walters: 'I remember being on the floor and the pilot trying to get my heart back going - they didn't know if I would pull through'

Dai Walters takes a seat at his kitchen table in a chair that seven months ago he couldn't even lift himself out of. With his neat haircut, cleanly shaved face and crisp chequered shirt, he is looking well by anyone's standards – never mind for a man who came within a short head of losing his life almost a year ago to the day.

The self-made plant hire and construction magnate was left with a broken leg, ribs, shoulder, back and neck when the helicopter carrying him and five others clipped trees shortly after take-off and came hurtling to the ground.

Now, though, he can look forward to an afternoon of shooting in the Welsh wilderness – a sure sign he is feeling as good as he looks – and, while his recovery is not yet complete, he has already defied all odds by coming this far.