A British tourist was left paralysed after shattering his spine when he dove into the sea at a popular Spanish beach.

Ardi Balliu, 27, from Northampton, dove head first into beauty spot Calo d'es Moro in Mallorca, but when he failed to come back up his friend screamed for help and a group of strangers brought him to shore before being rushed to hospital by an air ambulance.

The 'active' construction worker is now fighting for his life in a Mallorca hospital on life support, where he cannot breathe on his own and will never walk again. 

Speaking to the Mirror, his cousin Ingrid Kaca said: 'He is currently in a critical state, he is on life support as he is unable to breathe by himself. 

'We have been told that he is going to never be able to walk again and with a high chance that he will be fully paralysed. He is currently on a lot of medication, and is still unconscious.'

She added: 'He is an amazing and loving individual - a supportive friend and family member. Ardi loves to travel and explore different places and loves to have fun. He is the life of the party, he loves his fitness and is such a caring and genuine person. We're heartbroken and so worried.'

The 'devastated' family have started a GoFundMe which has already raised £43,000, to get Mr Balliu back home and to support ongoing care as he will need around-the-clock support for the rest of his life. 

Mr Balliu broke four parts in his spine, one of them being the C1 Vertebra, which directly supports the skull and acts as the crucial connection between the head and the rest of the spine.

Trauma to the C1 can cause severe neurological complications, including paralysis or respiratory failure.

Doctors are now waiting for the medication to leave his body so they can assess if he can breathe on his own and if he is able to undergo surgery where they will insert a tube to help him breathe.

Diving into the sea can be extremely dangerous because water has high surface tension and hitting it from a significant height like a cliff can cause the water to act like concrete.

While diving headfirst into unknown or shallow waters can cause your head to hit the seabed or rocks which often leads to permanent paralysis. 

The GoFundMe statement read: 'We have been given low hope that he will ever walk again and is at risk of not being able to breathe without support.

'Ardi is a loving son and uncle to his little niece, supportive friend and family member and a joy to be around. The medical team is doing everything they can, but the road ahead is going to be a long and challenging one.

'We are setting up this fundraiser to help Ardi and their family cover mounting medical expenses, travel and any aftercare that he may need. Any funds raised will directly relieve the financial stress on the family so they can focus entirely on being by Ardi’s side.'