A builder suffered horrific head and facial injuries after he came off his motorcycle in Thailand.

Graham Holland, from Farnworth, had flown out to stay with his mum, Maria McAfee, on the island of Ko Phan Ngan.

He was returning from visiting friends when he hit sand on the road, causing him to skid and fall from the bike.

He hit his head several times in the accident, sustaining multiple life threatening injuries including a broken neck and a fractured spine.

He also has hundreds of stitches all over his face, head and body.

The 32-year-old was taken to hospital and then transferred to a better equipped facility on the neighbouring island of Ko Samui.

Fortunately medics at the hospital were able to stop a bleed on his brain and save his life.

Mrs McAfee, who rushed to be by her son’s side when alerted to the accident, said he had been ‘very lucky’ to survive the accident.

She said: “They told me that if he was not as strong and young he would be dead now.

“They couldn’t believe that with the injuries he had to his head that he was still moving his arms and legs.

“He woke up shouting and screaming , they had to tie him to the bed as he was trying to rip his bandages off.

“When took bandages off he had half his scalp hanging off.”

And although the facilities in the hospital were a far cry from those in this country, Mrs McAfee said her son owed Thai medics his life.

She said: “They did what they could, they saved his life so I can’t complain , it’s like an NHS hospital in the 1950s it’s so antiquated.”

Mrs McAfee is hoping her son will be issued with a certificate confirming his fitness imminently and is arranging his journey home.

Mr Holland’s sister, Abbey has flown out to Thailand to take him back to the UK..

And she added that, although Mr Holland was still ‘weak and in a lot of pain’ she expects him to make a full recovery with ‘loads of support’ waiting for him back home.

Ms Holland has launched a Go Fund Me page to raise money to cover the cost of her brother’s medical bills and flight home.

To date it has raised 38 per cent of its £8,000 target.

Writing on the site Ms Holland said: “ As you can imagine it’s going to be very expensive to fly him home and get the medical attention he needs while he is over there. Due to unforeseen circumstances the insurance that he had does not cover him.”

She added: “We just want him home so we can give him the support he needs and he can have his family around him while he’s getting better.

To donate visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Graholland