THE father of a Wrecclesham man, who was seriously injured after being hit by a taxi, spoke of his sadness that his son will not be home for Christmas.

Michael Coleman, of Cobbetts Way, says that his son, Simon, 28, who has been hospitalised for the past seven weeks, will remain in Frimley Park Hospital while he awaits a transfer to a specialist hospital.

Simon's condition had been critical and he sustained a number of injuries including three broken vertebrae in the neck, a fractured shoulder blade and facial injuries when he was struck by the Peugeot 406 in the early hours of Sunday, October 20.

Police believe he was already lying in the road, about a quarter of a mile from the junction with the A325 Wrecclesham road, when the vehicle struck him.

Simon was transferred to the John Radcliff Infirmary in Oxford when his condition became critical, but has since been moved back to Frimley.

Mr Coleman and his wife, Lesley, have visited the hospital every day, but despite the strain, remain upbeat about their son's condition,

"He has no movement and he can't talk, but at least he is awake now, after being unconscious for about two weeks, said Mr Coleman,

"He responds and recognises his family, but it feels like he is at a distance. He can't speak because he has these tubes in his mouth which feed him and help with his breathing."

Mr Coleman is confident that his son has not suffered brain damage.

"He seems completely compos mentis, but we don't really know anything at this stage. There is no general prognosis, the doctors won't commit to saying anything definite at this stage at all."

Simon lives with his parents and works at Haven Memorials in Church Crookham.

Pc Andy Mitchell, who is investigating the accident, said: "There are still about 90 minutes before the accident when we don't know what Simon was doing, and we would really like to be able to fill in the missing blanks.

"We think Simon was on his way home when the accident occurred and at the moment, we are assuming he was on his own.

"We are still hoping to discover how he came to be lying on the road and his movements between 3 pm on Saturday, October 19 and the time of the accident on Sunday at 1.50 am. We would also like to hear from any independent witnesses who saw the accident."

If anyone has any information which could help police with their enquiries, they should contact Pc Mitchell on 01483 531111.