Brave Terry Bennett hasn't had a square meal for 11 years after a horrific accident which nearly killed him.

The cabbie from Shipley is unable to eat after vital nerves in his brain were severed in the road smash.

Instead of tucking into a plate of steak and chips he has to make do with nine tins of food supplement every day.

He is one of only a handful of people in Britain with the medical condition.

In the crash he also broke his neck in two places, fractured his skull and suffered brain damage which has paralysed the left side of his face and made him deaf in one ear.

But he has spent 11 heartbreaking years battling back to health and now has amazed doctors by returning to work as a taxi driver.

Terry, 53, of Prospect Grove, Shipley, conquered his illness with the help of his wife, Anne, family and friends.

He recently went back to work part-time with Shipley Central Taxis and hopes to go full-time.

And today doctors praised the amazing courage of the man who 'died' twice when his heart stopped beating.

But Terry has one desperate wish - to sit at the table with his family and tuck into his dinner.

He said: "It is terrible and impossible to put into words. I would give anything in the world to be able to eat again.

"I have been told this is permanent but I hope every day there will be a medical breakthrough. I would go through any operation whatever the risks."

Terry is unable to eat solids because the nerves in his brain which deal with swallowing mechanism were severed. Most doctors have only seen the very rare condition in medical text books and only about six people in Britain suffer from it.

Terry lay in a coma in the intensive care unit at Bradford Royal Infirmary for two weeks after the accident and was told by doctors when he regained consciousness that he had been resuscitated twice.

He had an operation to open his gullet and try to improve his swallowing.

An injection into his paralysed vocal chord improved his speech, which is now almost perfect.

But once the surgeons had done what they could, it was up to Terry and Anne to continue on the long hard road to recovery.

Anne described how she helped Terry to walk step by step. "We used to go to the ginnel and then a little bit further. His confidence was completely gone and he was so weak. But he didn't seem to have the will to pull himself round.

"It was terrible for him but in the end I had to put my foot down and shout. I love him dearly but I had to be cruel to be kind.

"He was so depressed he was threatening suicide and I had to hide his pain killers."

But she said the first big breakthrough came five years after the accident when Terry's former boss at Shipley Central Taxis, Geoff Kingsley insisted on making Terry drive again.

"Terry came back ashen and shaken but determined to carry on. I'd never been so proud of him. It seemed from then that things started to change at last.

"I am over the moon that he is back at work.

"We have been married for 34 years and we've been through a nightmare together.

"I still love him and think the world of him and I always will."

Terry said he had only been able to rebuild his shattered life because of Anne.

"They were terrible times and she has never failed me. We have come through this together.

"I am happy that I am back at work and am taking each day as a challenge.

Telegraph&Argus doctor Tom Smith said: "He is amazing and has tremendous courage.

"His condition is extremely rare. It is something a GP might never see in his life. There would probably be only about six people at the most in the country with it."

Terry's own GP Dr Jaspal Jandu said: "The injuries he received are very rare but could have easily resulted in his death if one or two other nerves had been damaged."

He said Terry had gone from strength to strength after conquering depression during his convalescence and had been determined to return to work.

He said it was to Terry's credit that he was back to his job.

The proprietor of Shipley Central Taxis Mick Bradbury said: "Terry has done very well and it's really great to have him back."

ends

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