NEWLYWED Shelly Vinter is appealing for local help to get her husband home from hospital, after he suffered life-changing injuries in a freak paddling pool accident.

Stuart Vinter, 43, a fabricator welder, suffered leg and neck injuries on June 30 last year which left him paralysed him from the chest down after slipping in the 12ft paddling pool.

Now the family are trying to raise at least £10,000 to pay for an electric wheelchair and alterations to their home, so they can begin to rebuild their lives.

After being found face down in the pool, Stuart was resuscitated by his wife and neighbours before being taken to the Royal United Hospital in Bath and then on to Southmead Hospital, Bristol, by Wiltshire Air Ambulance.

The father-of-two was in a coma for 15 days and spent time on a ventilator. After five weeks in intensive care in Southmead and a further nine at the RUH, he was eventually transferred to the Salisbury Spinal Treatment Centre.

After missing their original wedding date on July 21, the couple tied the knot in the Horatio’s Garden at Salisbury Hospital and are now looking to begin their married life together.

Mr Vinter is ready to be discharged, but because his hands are paralysed, although he can move his arms, he is struggling with the manual wheelchair that the NHS will provide. He also needs a standing frame and physiotherapy equipment which he can use at home.

Mrs Vinter, 40, of Dovey’s Terrace, Kington Langley, said: “It’s about giving my husband a bit of independence back.

“His hands were his tools. To see someone go from being so fit and healthy having to fight for everything , All I want is to get him home now and get into a routine.

“He’s such an inspiration, he’s working his manual wheelchair pushing it with his palms. He says as long as he can push himself he’s building his strength, You have to admire his determination and courage.”

To get Mr Vinter home, his wife is fundraising for a power assisted wheelchair to help him get around as well as other home modifications to make her property accessible to him.

Attempts to work with Wiltshire Council to find the family a new home have proved fruitless, with none having the necessary disabled access. Between them the couple have five children from previous relationships, with Mr Vinter being dad to Sam, aged 14, and Lucy, aged 13, and Mrs Vinter still caring for her 13-year-old son.

“It’s not their fault, they can’t help that they don’t have the property,” Mrs Vinter added.

“Stuart’s been in construction work for 25 years and he wants to go to college and restudy the automated Computer Aided Design side of construction so he can be an architect.

“He won’t be able to do it in a manual wheelchair. He’s a very proud man with really good morals and I want him home so we can be a family again.”

To donate, go to the couple’s Gofundme page: https://www.gofundme.com/hzbzxy6s