Groom, 49, is left deaf in one ear and with no sense of taste or smell

A bridegroom has been left deaf in one ear and with no sense of taste or smell after he plunged 12ft through a staircase railing on his wedding night.

Chris Mallon, 49, sustained horrific injuries after his fall at the Macdonald Houston House in Uphall, West Lothian, just hours after he tied the knot with wife Avril, 43, in June.

Mr Mallon had been helping a hotel porter carry wedding gifts to his honeymoon suite when he tripped and fell from an external staircase.

He suffered three skull fractures, a broken back, a fractured and dislocated shoulder, a broken right hand and a badly bruised heart and lungs after the fall on June 14. 

Mr Mallon was placed in an induced coma the next day, and he didn’t wake up for eight days.  

Specialist doctors have since confirmed that Mr Mallon has lost his sense of taste and smell, and have said he will not regain hearing in his left ear. 

He said: ‘The ear, nose and throat doctors told me I’ve lost the hearing in one of my ears and confirmed I’ve lost my sense of smell and taste. 

‘Where I’ve hit my head my brain’s moved and it’s shredded the nerves. Some nerves do grow back but unfortunately these ones don’t. 

He suffered three skull fractures, a broken back, a fractured and dislocated shoulder, a broken right hand and a badly bruised heart and lungs after the fall on June 14 (Pictured: Mr Mallon with his bride Avril)

‘It’s hard when you go out to have your favourite meal and you can’t taste anything. It’s not ideal but I’ve just got to keep it in mind it could’ve been an awful lot worse.

‘I’m lucky to be here. My back was a big thing when I first came out of hospital and my shoulder as well. I suppose these were the main things to get back on my feet.

‘They’re more coming to the fore now that my back and shoulder are more manageable’.

Mr Mallon, who works in administration, will have to wear a hearing aid for the rest of his life, while a gruelling physio regime is helping him battle back from other injuries.

Mr Mallon had been helping a porter carry wedding gifts to his honeymoon suite when he tripped and fell from a staircase (pictured) at the Macdonald Houston House in West Lothian

 Specialist doctors have since confirmed that Mr Mallon has lost his sense of taste and smell after his fall at the Uphall hotel (pictured), and said he will not regain hearing in his left ear

He also faces a long struggle as the full extent of the brain injuries from his fall are only now beginning to reveal themselves.

Mr Mallon, from East Calder in West Lothian, said: ‘I’ve still got pain in my back and my shoulder is very sore. I’ve lost a lot of movement in my arm because of my shoulder.’

It comes as safety experts complete their investigation into the groom’s fall that left him fighting for life. Specialist environmental health investigators will now submit their findings to prosecutors, with criminal proceedings possible.

Mr Mallon welcomed the news that health and safety experts had completed their report after visiting the hotel.

He said: ‘It’s certainly something that needs to be looked into. It was dangerous and it was pretty obvious it was dangerous. That was confirmed when I had the accident.

‘It was pretty obvious it needed fixing. It didn’t need somebody to fall and break their back.

‘Maybe they need to look at the whole group of hotels for something like that. I think it’s a good thing for them to sit up and take notice of what happened.’

A West Lothian Council spokesman said: ‘Officers are in the process of sending the report to the Procurator Fiscal. It would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.’

A Macdonald Hotels spokeswoman told the Edinburgh Evening News in June: ‘Our thoughts are with Christopher Mallon and his family.’