Leigh's new way of living is his healing journey

MEET the man who gave up his home to cycle around the UK with his dog following an explosion that almost killed him.

- By NICOLE GOODWIN

Leigh Taylor spent five weeks in a coma at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) after the blast at his workplace on May 13, 2024.

He suffered 40% burns to his hands, legs and face having been engulfed by a fireball in the blast at Tractor Shed Brewing in Workington, Cumbria.

He was convinced he was going to die that day. The 44-year-old said: “I just remember the fireball hitting me and blowing me across the room and my ears ringing. And this benumb, liminal space between life and death.

“I remember being dragged out of the rubble because I'd crawled out of the room. Then the doctor arrived and put me in an induced coma.”

Leigh was airlifted to hospital by the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) and spent a total of nine weeks in hospital. But he has continued to surprise doctors with his recovery.

“Once I woke up from my coma I got myself out of hospital after four weeks’, said Leigh. “I couldn’t walk when I got into the burns ward and couldn’t even go to the toilet on my own.