It took weeks of fundraising to bring Alister Masters home after a car crash in Kuwait left him almost completely paralysed.

And even after generous donations from the public raised �12,000 his family and friends were still left with an agonising wait while British doctors assessed his condition.

Now, after being transferred from Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge to a specialist spinal unit in Sheffield, Mr Masters has been told he is expected to make a full recovery, although this may take some time.

His sister, Diana Masters, 30, from Mundford, near Brandon, said she had now challenged her brother, 33, a former Methwold High Pupil, to walk her down the aisle at her wedding, which she intends to schedule for next year.

'They've told him they can't start physio' until he can sit in his chair for more than four hours but he's in great spirits and he's hanging in there,' she said.

'It's going to take time but he's started to get feeling in his right leg and his body is starting to spasm where it's starting to heal. When he came back he was so scared and the doctors said if he'd been over there another week he wouldn't have been able to take any more.

'It's such a relief - the nurses over there in Sheffield are just fantastic.'

Mr Masters, who worked in Kuwait for five years and was between contracting jobs so had no medical insurance, was left unable to move 85pc of his body after the two-car crash in Mahboula on April 24, which left the driver of the other car dead.

His mother, Maggie Davis, flew to be with her son at his bedside at the Al Adan Hospital in Kuwait City, while his sister, brother Ashley Masters and stepfather Stephen Davis tried to raise awareness in Norfolk and his father, Malcolm Masters, raised funds from his Thai home.

Mr Masters, who suffered two breaks in his neck, a torn spinal cord, contracted a condition from damp and dirty walls in the Kuwaiti Hospital and suffered severe bed sores, now faces up to 18 months of rehabilitation at the Princess Royal Spinal Injuries Unit at the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield where he is being treated.

Mrs Davis, 58, of Rowan Drive, Brandon, who works at Multiyork and who contributed all �1,300 of her savings to bring her son home, said she could not thank everybody enough for their support.

She added: 'All the people who did so many things to raise this money to bring my son home shows how nice people are - they've done so much and are just so amazing. It was so bad in the hospital over there - it was so dirty and disgusting so we tried to get him home as soon as possible, it was just utterly terrible.

'When we were in the aeroplane I said we were going to England and he gave me this smile. I feel more relaxed now he's in the best place and he's getting what he deserves - he's being looked after very well.'

Mundford Brownies, Mundford Primary School and Mrs Davis' work place also contributed to Mr Masters' fund.