A former lorry driver was left blind and with numbness in his right side after suffering five strokes in four years.

Father-of-two, Gordon Stewart, 47, from Sandringham Road, Gaywood, woke up one day with a numb mouth, after several months of terrible headaches, and was told at the hospital he had suffered three strokes.

He said: 'I was in shock. As a skip lorry driver, I was fit and strong. I never dreamed that I'd have one stroke – let alone three.'

Over the next two years he had a further two stokes, before being diagnosed with small vessel disease, a condition in which small arteries in the brain become narrowed, as well as atrial fibrillation, a type of irregular heartbeat.

He added: 'The strokes have left me blind, unable to work and totally exhausted. But thanks to the Stroke Association's weekly support group, I've found my confidence, met new people, and I've realised that I'm not alone.

'I now take part in local art and walking groups, visually impaired archery, and recently proposed to my girlfriend.'

To show his gratitude to the charity, he will be taking part, with his fiancée Tracey, and guide dog Jandy, in the Stroke Association's Step out for Stroke walking event in Hunstanton on Tuesday, May 24.

George Burroughs, fundraising manager from the association, said: 'Everyone can be part of it, no matter what your age or fitness level.'

For more information and to enter, visit www.stroke.org.uk/stepout

Have you got a survival story? Email david.bale2@archant.co.uk