A MAN who suffered a life-changing brain injury six years ago, which left him struggling to walk and talk, is pulling on his running shoes to tackle the Yorkshire Marathon tomorrow.

Matt Burke will join more than 7,000 runners at the University Road start line in what will be his first ever marathon.

In June 2012 he was involved in an accident while putting some scaffolding equipment away. Matt, who lives in Hull, said: “I was only 5ft off the floor when the ladders gave way on me and my head landed on concrete.”

He was in hospital for a month, had to learn to walk and talk again, his eyesight was sensitive to light and he suffered short-term memory problems.

Matt, who was 28 when he had his accident, said: “My recovery has been a hard and testing one - some days I just wanted to give up.

“I couldn’t play football again as I couldn’t head a ball so I had to find something else to keep me active once I could walk again. I got into running and this made me fitter and more determined.”