Scarborough's Liam Critchett takes first unaided steps after spinal cancer left him in a wheelchair for over a decade

Through dogged determination and hours of hard work, the 24-year-old who spent over a decade in a wheelchair after suffering spinal cancer recently took his first steps without any kind of assistance.

He has thanked everyone who has supported his journey so far, and is already working to push his recovery further.

"This past year has been incredible and I've made a lot of progress and want to keep that going,” he said.

“Me and my physios believe we are just half-way through this journey now and everything is going in the right direction.”

Liam, from Newby, was diagnosed with spinal cancer when he was 11.

He was wheelchair-bound throughout his school years and spent the majority of his youth in hospital undergoing dozens of operations.

As well as surgeries to reduce the size of the tumour, he had spinal rods which had to be refitted every six months as he continued to grow and have his spine fused.

He was dealt a further blow in January 2018 when he was told his cancer had returned.

"For it to grow back ten years after being stable was just heartbreaking,” said Liam. "It was extremely hard to take but with the support of my family and friends I got through it.

"Remarkably it was the first time I had made a full and speedy recovery.”

Liam, who is a tendering engineer at SchneiderElectric, in Cayton Low Road, spends three afternoons a week doing spinal neurological physiotherapy at Flex Health in Hull.

It is there that he has been able to take his first unaided steps.

“It feels weird,” he said. “I'm very focused when it happens and it's a lot of effort.

“You don't realise how much goes into it until you have to learn it all again."

The intense physio costs a staggering £13,500 a year - an amount he has so far managed to raise through donations, grants and fundraising events.

“I’m so grateful to every single person who has donated towards my journey so far and come to my fund raising events because without their support, none of this would even have happened,” he said.

To donate to Liam’s fund, visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/liam-critchett