THE parents of a toddler who spent months fighting for life after suffering serious head injuries in a road accident have spoken for the first time about their ordeal.

Mick and Sue Donlon, of Dill Hall Lane, Church, are celebrating the news that two-year-old son Elliot is on the road to recovery.

He has battled bravely since the accident outside his home in March when he was in collision with a car.

Sue Donlon said: "He's coming on in leaps and bounds." The news is a major boost to the family and to the legions of wellwishers who rallied to help, even buying the Donlons a car so they could stay at Elliot's hospital bedside.

Now an in-patient on a ward at Manchester's Boothhall Children's Hospital, Elliot is making good progress under an intensive physiotherapy programme and returning to the family home most weekends.

Mum Sue said: "When we look at photographs of him just after the accident, hooked up to feeding tubes and semi-conscious, it's hard to believe it's our son.

"He has learned to sit up by himself and started communicating with people around him."

Elliot had an operation to relieve pressure on his brain which doctors are optimistic will be successful, but physically he is classed as being at the same stage as an eight-month-old baby.

Sue, who has two older sons Paul, 12, and James, nine, added: "Elliot gets frustrated and the physiotherapy irritates him but the hospital says he is medically fit and his personality hasn't changed in the slightest."

The Donlons have been overwhelmed by the support of neighbours, friends and family.

Mick said: "If it wasn't for them, I don't know how we would have coped. And through the Citizen newspaper our neighbours have campaigned for traffic calming measures in Dill Hall Lane. We can't thank them enough."

Elliot back home with his parents Mick and Sue

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