Sensory garden will help injured soldier

The family of a former soldier who was badly injured in a bomb blast in Afghanistan is hoping to raise £5,000 to create a sensory garden for him.

Simon Vaughan, formally of Hodnet, near Market Drayton, suffered a serious brain injury after the vehicle he was travelling in drove over an unexploded bomb in December 2008.

The 28-year-old former Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineer has been battling his way back to health and defying the expectations of medical staff who treated him in the wake of the explosion.

Doctors warned he might never be able to breathe unaided and could remain in a vegetative state – but determined Mr Vaughan, who was tipped by top brass for a role in the SAS, has overcome the odds and is now back home in Ercall Heath near Newport.

Mr Vaughan has been living in the family home with wife Donna, 30, and son Ben, nine, after a £100,000 campaign to have the home custom-built.

Mrs Vaughan said: "We are trying to create a sensory garden for Simon to help him with his senses, like smells.

"We have completed the orchard and have been donated plants. We now want to create paths for him and get some more plants.

"It's going to cost about £5,000. We have had about £1,000 in donations and need to raise another £4,000.

"David Austin has given us 20 roses and we've have had someone from the 1st Royal Dragoons give us a cheque for £260."

Before returning home Mr Vaughan was receiving care at Headley Court, a defence medical rehabilitation centre near Epsom.

Mrs Vaughan said: "He's doing really well. We have just started trying to put him in a walking hoist.

"He still slurs his words. Some sentences we get."

If anyone wishes to donate any money towards the garden, e-mail donnavaughan28@gmail.com