Brave Mathew James, 30, was shot three times as he acted as a human shield to save his beloved fiancee Saera Wilson from the murderous rampage of madman Seifeddine Rezgui
A hero of the Tunisia terror attack has revealed he he has been invited back to the resort - to get MARRIED.
Brave Mathew James, 30, was shot three times as he acted as a human shield to save his beloved fiancee Saera Wilson
from the murderous rampage of madman Seifeddine Rezgui.
Now back at home and recovering from his injuries in Pontypridd, south Wales, he revealed locals in the resort town of Sousse have invited the couple back to the murder scene - so they can get wed.
But the traumatised couple have politely declined the offer.
Mathew said: "They want us to go back and get married over there. They said they would pay for us to have our wedding in the same hotel.
"I said 'No!' Can you imagine that? They'd advertise it as the hero coming back and even if they had armed guards the whole way around the hotel I still wouldn't be able to do it."
Lucky: Tunisian massacre victim James back home with his wife-to-be Saera
Bullet wounds: Tunisian massacre victim Matthew James back home with his family
Speaking from the home he shares with bride-to-be Saera in the Welsh valleys it is hard to believe Mathew was fighting for his life just over a month ago .
The humble gas engineer has made huge progress after bullets pierced his leg, stomach, arm and chest.
He even suffered a heart attack while being rushed to hospital following the attack at the beach resort on June 26.
The sickening attack claimed the lives of 30 Britons and eight others who were mercilessly killed by an Isis terrorist
Seifeddine Rezgui in the North African resort of Sousse.
Medics have since removed two bullets from Mathew's body - one which had broken into a number of small pieces, the other still intact.
"I wanted to keep it but they wouldn't let me have it," Mathew joked.
But he admitted the couple never really felt safe until they had returned to the UK.
Accompanied by air medics, the couple were flown back to Cardiff by private jet - paid for by their bank's holiday insurance scheme - within 36 hours of the shooting.
Saera said: "When we got up in the air in the jet I kept asking where we were. As soon as they said we were flying over British soil that was when I thought 'Oh my God, we're home'.
"When we landed and got off Mathew's mum and sister and my dad were there.
"They opened the door and I ran across the runway and threw myself on my dad."
Mathew subsequently spent more than two weeks being treated at the University Hospital of Wales, Heath, Cardiff.
Mathew said: "The doctors are quite shocked. They said I had done really well - I was up and walking after two or three days of being in the Heath."
Despite his good physical recovery he and Saera suffer from flashbacks following their horrifying ordeal.
"It is a bit strange going out into busy places.
"It feels weird at the moment - I feel a bit on edge," Mathew said.
"If I had reacted a split-second slower, I'm dead, or Saera's dead. It was millimetres away from hitting my internal organs and if it had hit anything in there I would have died.
"I was lucky. I am the luckiest man in the world."
Yet despite his ordeal plucky Mathew said he was counting his blessings.
He said: "There's no one luckier than me. There are not many people who can say they've gone through trauma like that and come out as well as I have.
"I have full function in my body, everything works - I just can't feel my leg, which is a pretty good sacrifice, really. I'm the luckiest unlucky person on the planet.
"I don't think you could have been put in a worse situation and come off as well as I have. You couldn't write it.
"I have got constant pain in my groin - it's like an electric shock going off the whole time. It never goes away. It feels like someone's stabbing you constantly with a knife.
"Where the gunshot has gone through they think there might be a few hernias so I am waiting for a specialist surgeon to have a look. I think that's why I am in pain.
"But even if I have to put up with that for the rest of my life it's better than being in a body bag."
Mirror
A hero of the Tunisia terror attack has revealed he he has been invited back to the resort - to get MARRIED.
Brave Mathew James, 30, was shot three times as he acted as a human shield to save his beloved fiancee Saera Wilson
from the murderous rampage of madman Seifeddine Rezgui.
Now back at home and recovering from his injuries in Pontypridd, south Wales, he revealed locals in the resort town of Sousse have invited the couple back to the murder scene - so they can get wed.
But the traumatised couple have politely declined the offer.
Mathew said: "They want us to go back and get married over there. They said they would pay for us to have our wedding in the same hotel.
"I said 'No!' Can you imagine that? They'd advertise it as the hero coming back and even if they had armed guards the whole way around the hotel I still wouldn't be able to do it."
Lucky: Tunisian massacre victim James back home with his wife-to-be Saera
Bullet wounds: Tunisian massacre victim Matthew James back home with his family
Speaking from the home he shares with bride-to-be Saera in the Welsh valleys it is hard to believe Mathew was fighting for his life just over a month ago .
The humble gas engineer has made huge progress after bullets pierced his leg, stomach, arm and chest.
He even suffered a heart attack while being rushed to hospital following the attack at the beach resort on June 26.
The sickening attack claimed the lives of 30 Britons and eight others who were mercilessly killed by an Isis terrorist
Seifeddine Rezgui in the North African resort of Sousse.
Medics have since removed two bullets from Mathew's body - one which had broken into a number of small pieces, the other still intact.
"I wanted to keep it but they wouldn't let me have it," Mathew joked.
But he admitted the couple never really felt safe until they had returned to the UK.
Accompanied by air medics, the couple were flown back to Cardiff by private jet - paid for by their bank's holiday insurance scheme - within 36 hours of the shooting.
Saera said: "When we got up in the air in the jet I kept asking where we were. As soon as they said we were flying over British soil that was when I thought 'Oh my God, we're home'.
"When we landed and got off Mathew's mum and sister and my dad were there.
"They opened the door and I ran across the runway and threw myself on my dad."
Mathew subsequently spent more than two weeks being treated at the University Hospital of Wales, Heath, Cardiff.
Mathew said: "The doctors are quite shocked. They said I had done really well - I was up and walking after two or three days of being in the Heath."
Despite his good physical recovery he and Saera suffer from flashbacks following their horrifying ordeal.
"It is a bit strange going out into busy places.
"It feels weird at the moment - I feel a bit on edge," Mathew said.
"If I had reacted a split-second slower, I'm dead, or Saera's dead. It was millimetres away from hitting my internal organs and if it had hit anything in there I would have died.
"I was lucky. I am the luckiest man in the world."
Yet despite his ordeal plucky Mathew said he was counting his blessings.
He said: "There's no one luckier than me. There are not many people who can say they've gone through trauma like that and come out as well as I have.
"I have full function in my body, everything works - I just can't feel my leg, which is a pretty good sacrifice, really. I'm the luckiest unlucky person on the planet.
"I don't think you could have been put in a worse situation and come off as well as I have. You couldn't write it.
"I have got constant pain in my groin - it's like an electric shock going off the whole time. It never goes away. It feels like someone's stabbing you constantly with a knife.
"Where the gunshot has gone through they think there might be a few hernias so I am waiting for a specialist surgeon to have a look. I think that's why I am in pain.
"But even if I have to put up with that for the rest of my life it's better than being in a body bag."
Mirror