‘Will, and his friends and family, have shown true bravery, and the kindness shown by the public continues to be truly life-changing for this family’. A Lancashire man who broke his neck while diving into a swimming pool in Turkey has been flown home after £150k was raised to bring him back to the UK, where he is now in the care of specialist clinicians.

A Lancashire man who broke his neck while diving into a swimming pool in Turkey is back in the UK after £150k was raised to bring him home.

Will Ponter, from Carnforth, underwent a 13-hour emergency surgery in Antalya, and doctors said the 24-year-old would be paralysed from the neck down.

He was flown home by the UK aeroplane ambulance charity Lia's Wings.

A spokesman for Lia’s Wings said: “After being contacted by Will’s family, Lia’s Wings arranged a specialist air ambulance to bring him safely back to the UK.

Will Ponter is back in the UK after £150k was raised to bring him home.

placeholder image — Will Ponter is back in the UK after £150k was raised to bring him home.

"Will arrived home on Sunday and is now in the care of specialist clinicians. This has been an extremely distressing time for his family, and we will continue to provide ongoing support for as long as they need us. We’re also deeply moved by the community support that has helped make his journey support possible.”

Charlotte Young, chief operating officer at Lia’s Wings said: “Will, and his friends and family, have shown true bravery, and the kindness shown by the public continues to be truly life-changing for this family. We are glad Lia’s Wings could play our part in Will’s journey and will stay with his family for as long as they need us.”

Will’s girlfriend Becky Francey said everyone who donated ‘really restored my faith in humanity.’

Becky told the BBC that Will is stable in hospital in Lancaster after ‘a really long 10 days trying to get him back’ and will be transferred to the Royal Preston Hospital for further treatment.

"The visiting hours are better here so we can see him a lot more which is really nice, difficult but nice, she said.

The family still ‘don't know’ what the future holds until he is no longer sedated and comes off ventilation so ‘they can assess the damage he's done.’

"The doctors at Lancaster are amazing at keeping us informed," Becky said.

"Now we can just concentrate on letting the doctors do what they need to do."

She said it is "definitely a relief" to be back in England, but "it's also tough being home, I haven't spent much time at our house because he's not there".

"While he's intubated he can't talk to me and I miss him so much."

The fundraising page launched by Will’s family raised £152,452.