SUPER swimmer Adrian Turner celebrated a "beautiful" moment after winning two medals in the Commonwealth Games.

Just two years ago the 25-year-old from Prestwich was close to death after being struck down with a debilitating blood disease.

But he battled back to full fitness and, with the help of life-saving blood transfusions and the love of his family, Adrian swam to success in the Games scooping a silver and bronze medal and rated his performance as "just amazing".

And who could argue with that? Adrian, pictured proudly displaying his medals, put in the best swim of his life in the Commonwealth Games and was rewarded with not one but two medals.

Former Parrenthorn High School pupil Adrian was delighted to be awarded a bronze medal in the 400m individual medley.

And much to his surprise the determined swimmer went on to win silver the following day in the 200m individual medley.

But just two years ago the picture was so different as Adrian was struck down with a shock blood disease that saw him fighting for his life.

Adrian, who lives near Prestwich Hills with fellow medal winner Steve Parry, almost died when his body began rejecting his own blood.

After falling ill around Christmas time 2000, Adrian was critical within 24 hours and was diagnosed with an infection called auto immune haemolytic anaemia.

It was only thanks to repeated blood transfusions that Adrian was able to make a full recovery, despite losing out on a place in the Sydney Olympics.

He said: "I went to the Games with the idea in my mind of doing well in the final, but I did not expect to win a medal. I suppose the dream section in my brain took over, and after such a horrific time this was a beautiful finish. It is the complete opposite to how things were."

Adrian paid tribute to his parents, Roger and Joyce, who supported him through his illness and said a special moment was when he spotted them in the crowd during the opening ceremony.

"It has been an amazing couple of weeks and at the ceremony I was just buoyant," said Adrian. "It was pure coincidence that I was able to spot my family in the crowd among all those people and my mum was jumping around just as much as me. That was the nicest bit."

Not only did Adrian return with two medals but he also improved on his personal best time by five seconds.

"It was a beautiful moment," he said, "just amazing. It made 15 years of training worthwhile. Thank God people give blood or I simply would not be here to tell the tale."

The National Donor Helpline can be contacted on 0845 7711 711.