A MAN left paralysed by a horrific waterslide accident has returned home to England – and communicated with his family for the first time since suffering the injuries.

David Briffaut, 23, of Benfleet, suffered two breaks to his spine when he went down a slide at Aqualandia Waterpark in Benidorm, Spain, on July 8, leaving him with life-changing injuries.

But his family shared an encouraging update over the weekend, as they confirmed David had been taken off life-supported and flown transported by air ambulance back to the UK by air ambulance, where he was able to communicate with his family for the first time.

In a statement given to the Daily Mail on Saturday night, David’s uncle, Mark Pooley, confirmed David had been safely flown home.

He said: “David is back in the UK, having been transferred by air ambulance to a British hospital today.

“He is no longer under sedation and we are encouraged by the fact that he has been able to communicate with members of the family.

“We would like to thank everybody who has provided us with support during this difficult time, including the British Consulate in Alicante, the Hospital General Universitari d’Alacant, and Axa Insurance, plus all those who have kindly donated towards David’s long-term care via his JustGiving page.”

The park has denied all responsibility for the incident and claims David did not follow the guidelines.

Following the accident, friend Amy Llambias set up a fundraiser in a bid to help pay for David’s care.

The appeal exceeded £80,000 over the weekend.

An update from Amy on Friday night read: “Hey everyone, we got confirmation that David is coming back to the UK tomorrow.

“Thank you so much for all your well-wishes and support, it means the world.

“We can’t put into words how happy we are that he is coming home to be with loved ones and friends, and to take that next step to recovery.

“Thanks everyone for your continued support.” Visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/davidbriffaut