A man who was told he would never feel anything from the neck down again after an accident on holiday is regaining feeling and movement in his lower body.

David Hayes, from Torquay, Devon, was left with catastrophic injuries when he broke his neck while diving in the sea with his children in Ibiza.

He said: "I was playing with the kids, diving into the sea off the rock. I dived off for the fourth time and I just heard a crunch... I went numb. Instantly everywhere I couldn't move. I knew something was really, really bad."

Fifteen months on from the accident, David is now able to move both of his arms and has some mobility in his core - and he has high hopes for the future.

The 43-year-old hit a sandbank and instantly broken his neck.

"I was under the water, and I was panicking. I just needed to get up for some air," he said. "I was a dead weight, just trying to get up but not being able to move. It was terrifying."

David was saved by his daughter, who was 13 at the time. She brought him to the surface and, with the help of two men nearby, got him back to shore.

The family had spent many summer holidays on the Balearic island.

"We'd been there, to this particular resort, three, maybe four times before," David said.

"And we'd jumped off that rock hundreds of times – along with many others."

David was taken to a hospital in Ibiza, where he spent the next three weeks in a coma. He was then flown to Plymouth's Derriford Hospital and eventually a specialist unit in Salisbury.

"It was really, really tough," David said.

"You know, you get a surgeon come in and literally say, 'Unfortunately, David, you're never going to move anything ever again from the neck down'."

Initially. he was fed through a tube and was unable to talk.

"I was petrified. I thought, 'Wow, like, what sort of a life is this?'," he explained.

It was months before David was eventually allowed home - only after he was able to breathe without a ventilator.

The family's life completely changed. David could no longer do anything for himself.

Plus, he had an extra complication - known as Autonomic Dysreflexia - that meant he could experience dangerously high blood pressure at any moment.

But something had happened in hospital that gave them hope.

"I was working with one of the physios at Derriford, he was moving my hand left, right," David explained.

"He did it maybe 10 times and then he said, 'Right, you do it', and my hand flickered.

"And he was like, do it again, and I managed to flicker it again. So they went and got the surgeon and he was really, really shocked...

"It just gave me... hope. Hope that there is something that can be achieved."

David is now able to move both arms and can use a small weight in his left arm to build strength.

He has daily physiotherapy at home in Torquay - helped by his family and his two carers - along with regular therapy and appointments at the Salisbury Spinal Unit.

"We're trying everything we possibly can," his wife Eloise explained.

"The stem cell therapy could help with more movement, but it could also help with the pain David's constantly in."

David said: "My goal is to one day get into a manual wheelchair.

"I'd need a lot more upper body strength than I have right now, but I'm getting increased mobility in my core and things are going in the right direction."

For David, it is about positive attitude.

"I try and move my toes every day," he said. "I don't stop, even though, you know, nothing's happening.

"But I said that about my hands and my arms whilst I was lying in hospital in Derriford, and then all of a sudden something happened.

"I wasn't meant to move a thing from my neck down and now look at me. So, why not keep trying?"

The Spinal Injuries Association, a charity which helps people with spinal cord injuries, said every person's experience after suffering an injury was different.

A spokesperson said: "Regaining some movement after tetraplegia can happen, but is rare and depends on many individual factors, including the level and completeness of the injury, access to specialist rehabilitation, time, and the person's overall health and circumstances.

"Stories of recovery can be incredibly inspiring, but it is also important not to generalise from one person's experience because outcomes after spinal cord injury vary significantly.

"What matters is that everyone affected has access to the right specialist support, advice and opportunities to live as fully and independently as possible."

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