A TEENAGER who suffered extensive burns in a gas explosion in Chippenham last year has been able to leave hospital to watch his favourite football team.

Kyle Roe, who defied the odds to survive the Market Place blast in October which left him with 87 per cent burns, visited the Liberty Stadium on January 2 to see Tottenham Hotspur take a 2-0 win over Welsh side Swansea.

The 19-year-old has undergone extensive skin grafts over 13 operations at Morriston Hospital, and although he has years of treatment ahead of him, he is now able to walk and is regaining strength. He is also waiting to be transferred to Bristol Southmead Hospital.

"The chances of him surviving were very slim," his mother Tracy said. "Nobody thought Kyle would survive. He had a cardiac arrest the night he arrived here, and they managed to get him back.

“He’s had multiple infections, had to go on dialysis and had ventilator-acquired pneumonia along with acute respiratory disease syndrome. He’s been through a lot and that’s on top of all the surgery he’s had just to try and get skin grafts on him.

“He’s doing daily physio and occupational therapy, and cream massaging three times per day to manage contractures and tightness of the skin.

“The fact that we’re now at this stage 13 weeks on, where he’s on his feet and trying to walk, and having physio, is thanks to this hospital and all the staff that have looked after him. The standard of care he has received had has been truly amazing.”

In November, Kyle's family launched a fundraising campaign to say thank you to the staff at Morriston Hospital, which has now nearly raised £5,000. The family will donate £1,000 of that amount to the League of Friends at Morriston, which has provided on-site accommodation for Kyle's parents, while the rest will go towards the Tempest Burns ITU Unit. The family have also helped replace five televisions on the ward.

Consultant plastic surgeon Sarah Hemington-Gorse added: “Given how unwell Kyle was when he came to us, it’s an absolute joy to see him at the point where he’s ready to go back to his local hospital.

“It’s a testament to how well the burns multidisciplinary team work together to provide holistic care – not just to the patients but their families too.

"Kyle has a lovely family and they’ve been so generous.”

The family are now looking to raise £3,000 for a machine to help ease the pain of Kyle's contractures. To donate to visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/robynne-hinkley-2.