A teenager has vowed to complete the charity mission he started before a serious car accident resulted in him sustaining a significant brain injury.

Alex Coker, 18, a student at Christleton High School, had spent months planning a four-week trip to Borneo with 23 of his fellow students, which would see them working with local children and helping to build a new school in a deprived area.

He had already raised £2,000 and was well on his way to reaching his target of £4,000 when Alex was involved in a car accident which required him to spend three and a half weeks in the major trauma ward at Aintree Hospital after sustaining a brain injury that resulted in partial memory loss, partial paralysis and difficulties with his balance and speech.

Thankfully, Alex from Saltney made an excellent recovery and was able to return to school, where he had to take things very slowly, but this left him worried he wouldn’t be able to keep up his fundraising efforts.

He received a £1,000 bursary from teachers' union NASUWT which helped, but there was still more he needed to raise.

Alex said: “After my accident I was told, depending on my recovery, I may not be able to go on the trip, which was a horrible idea after all I had worked for so far. The fundraising would’ve been in vain.

Recovery

“Currently I am making a very good recovery and it’s looking like I will still be able to go on the trip. I have recently just got my driving licence back after six months because I’ve not had a seizure.

“I first got involved with the trip to Borneo because I’ll be starting my teacher training next year, so I wanted to see what education is like in other parts of the world and also help improve it, even if this is only putting a few bricks down for a new school.”

Alex explained: “My consultant is reasonably confident that I will be well enough to go on this trip. I have never taken part in anything like this before and am really looking forward to both widening my own experience and making a difference to the lives of students who do not have the same standard of living or facilities that we have.

“When I went back to school it was a struggle at first but through help from my friends and teachers I have taken it all in my stride and I will be sitting my A levels starting in June.

“I’ve got about £500 left to pay by May 1 and I am planning to run a disco for the younger years of the school. I have previously run one and it was very successful. This should hopefully cover most of my money but I may have to pay some with my work wages.”

If you can donate to Alex, email him on 09COKERAl@christletonhigh.co.uk