Jon Ker, 38, of Rothbury, is currently recovering in Newcastle's Walkergate Hospital after the microlight in which he was travelling with pilot Jim Martin smashed down at Bywell Farm, near Morpeth, on Sunday, December 30, last year.

As well as severe physical injuries, Jon suffered swelling on the brain and short-term memory loss.

In a bid to trigger his thought process, Jon's partner of 10 years, Barbara Gibson, borrowed pictures taken exclusively by the Northumberland Gazette to help him recover his short-term memory.

Having looked at the pictures, father-of-one Jon, has revealed to Barbara how lucky he and close friend Jim were in coming away from the incident alive.

Barbara, 45, said: "The pictures made him realise how lucky he's been and he is so relieved. He couldn't believe how they both got out of it.

"We took the pictures in to show him because the photos from the Gazette were really good. You can really pick everything out."

She added: "He actually lost a pair of boots in the crash and he was having a look at the pictures to see if he could see them."

But she revealed: "He remembers nothing about the incident. He vaguely remembers being at the airfield before but he has no recollection of the incident whatsoever. But he's said that that isn't such a bad thing because if he remembered what happened he might never fly again."

Physically Jon is recovering well. After the incident he was left with leg injuries but he is now walking around, using just one crutch for support and his last skin graft, on his lower right leg, is almost healed.

While there is currently no news of Jon returning home, Barbara added: "He's come a long way. Physically he is repairing well and mentally he is getting there."