Friends rallying around a UEA student who was hit by a car while studying abroad have raised more than £6,000 to bring him home.

Matt Cotton, a 21 year-old student who is studying in America, was hit by a car on February 9 in the Ingleside neighbourhood of San Francisco.

Mr Cotton, who studies American studies at the UEA and is spending a year overseas, suffered a range of injuries in the collision, including a collapsed lung, a shattered pelvis and bleed on the brain.

He was in a coma for 72 hours following the incident, and though still unconscious, has showed some signs of recovery.

Friends of the student have been rallying around him in recent months, as they look to raise the funds needed to support his family and bring him home.

A GoFundMe page as been created as an appeal to help bring him home and to financially support his family, but as it stands it is unclear how long he will remain abroad.

His mother, Sue Cotton, flew out to the States on February 12 to be with her son, but the extent of care he will need in the future remains unclear but she hopes to airlift him back to the UK to allow him to recover in his hometown Torquay, South Devon.

As well as studying American studies, Mr Cotton plays for the UEA Pirates American Football team as a running back.

A post on the team's Facebook page reads: "Matt is a fantastic running back for the UEA Pirates and a class man on and off the field. We would like to extend our love, sympathy and prayers to his family at this trying time."

Thus far, the GoFundMe page has raised more than £6,000 from more than 250 donors and has been shared more than 1,500 times on social media.

Meanwhile, friends in Mr Cotton's hometown of Torquay, Devon, have organised music event to help support the fundraising campaign