Wayne Howard and his family have defied the odds ever since, raising money to send him for pioneering treatment then setting up a charity in his name to help others.

The 53-year-old from Millbrook has passed away more than two decades after losing a leg and sustaining the traumatic brain injury that ultimately claimed his life.

Wayne had been a fit 32-year-old dad of three boys, Jayd, Jordan and Connor, who worked as a painter and decorator and loved motorbikes and martial arts before his near fatal crash in the summer of 2000.

He was airlifted to hospital in Salisbury with this family told to expect the worst.

Wayne spent a year-and-a-half in hospital, the first three months of which he was in a coma.

Spearheading the Daily Echo backed campaign to raise tens of thousands for treatment in Germany, Wayne's devoted partner Tracy Goodwin, mum Isobel Howard and other members of the family then set up the Wayne Howard Trust.

They opened a charity shop in Church Street, Shirley to raise cash for the trust and help brain injury victims reach their full potential.

Wayne made huge progress and was able to walk a short distance supported by his prosthetic leg and a harness and his speech improved.

But he remained completely dependent on Tracy for even basic tasks and their house was specially adapted for his needs.

Tracy, who has four grandchildren with Wayne, said: "He was the thing that drove me, my reason for getting up in the morning. Wayne was my everything. For the boys, he was their life and it was normal to them.

"After the accident, Wayne managed to walk and to speak and he laughed a lot.

"Even when he lost the ability to speak, he had a glint in his eye. We would communicate through eye to eye contact and he always fought on."