NINE weeks on from an explosion that ripped through a flat in the centre of Chippenham, 19-year-old Kyle Roe has defied the odds by fighting back, with his family hailing his recovery as a miracle.

The teen, who suffered 87 per cent burns to his body and a cardiac arrest after the explosion in the Market Place on October 18, has undergone 12 skin graft operations and his condition is no longer considered life threatening.

“It has been a long nine weeks but to be told that they no longer consider his condition to be life threatening is the best Christmas present ever,” his mum Tracy said. “He has a long way to go and a lot of adjusting to do but he now has skin from the waist upwards, and the lower half should be treated early in the New Year.

“The chances of him surviving were very slim but to know they are working on moving him to a ward where he can focus on rehabilitation is utterly amazing - it is a miracle.”

The 19-year-old has had a shock coming to terms with his condition but the efforts of the Chippenham community raising money for Morriston Hospital in Swansea, where he is being treated, has helped raise his spirits.

“He asks ‘why me?’ but we don’t have the answers,” Mrs Roe said. “There is an investigation into what caused the explosion and we will find out when it reaches its conclusion but for now our main focus will be on Kyle.

“We know that when he eventually comes home, there is a lot to be done but we’re focusing on the now.

“That night changed all of our lives and it will never be the same again but people back home have been amazing.

“It has been a real positive to be able to show Kyle what people have been doing because it shows just how much people are thinking of him and how much he means to people and it was quite overwhelming for him.

“We’d like to thank everyone (The Works Hair and Beauty, Morrisons, Kandu Arts, All Close Friends, PPD, Shire Pharmaceuticals, Valentino Rossi, Tottenham Hotspur, Vodaphone, Whitehall Garden Centre and Kevin Cairns) for their donations, especially Morrisons, who paid £600 for the whole family to have Christmas dinner in Swansea on Monday.”

To donate to the family’s hospital’s fundraiser visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/robynne-hinkley-2