A stock car driver is battling his way to recovery four months after he was seriously injured in a race.

Dave Nickolls suffered a broken pelvis, two broken vertebrae in his lower back, a broken collar bone and a collapsed lung at a race at Coventry's Brandon Stadium in November.

Mr Nickolls, a 42-year-old mechanic from Saxelby, near Melton, has only recently returned home after more than three months in hospital, first in Coventry, then at Leicester Royal Infirmary.

He has spent most of that time flat on his back but is now able to sit up slightly.

The Formula One stock car veteran of 20 years said: "I'm having regular physiotherapy and focusing on getting my legs working again.

"I can bend them and lift them in the air, but my muscles have wasted away and I don't think I would be able to stand up at the moment."

Wife, Mel, 37, and 10-year-old son, Joe, along with his brother Geoff, were watching when a collision with another car sent him ploughing into a safety barrier.

He had to be cut free from his Formula One stock car.

He said: "I'm hoping to be able to sit fully upright in a couple of weeks, but they're worried about putting any pressure on the spine.

"When I sit right up it still hurts.They're also worried about me sitting up because I've been laying down for so long.

"It's a long job and I'm fed up now, I've had enough. They couldn't see a lot of difference in the last scan.

"My wife gets me breakfast before she goes to work, I have carers come in who make lunch and we have tea as a family in the evening."

Family and friends have rallied round, taking Joe to school and visiting.

He said: "It's a stress on the family but it's better now I'm at home. We've got a Wii connected to the side of the bed so Joe and I can play together.

"The signs are I will make a full recovery, the long-term prognosis is very good but it's going to be a long job."

Dave, a motor mechanic at L&H Exhausts, in Burton Road, Melton, said: "Work are being very good and they've been to see me a few times."

Wife Mel said: "We never thought it would take this long. He'll get his mobility back but we just don't know how long it will take.

"It can get you down, but you just get on with it. As soon as he gets out of bed he'll be different again, he'll be tearing around driving us to distraction."

Members of the stock car racing community are among regular visitors. Updates on his condition are posted on The British Stock Car Association online newsletter.

Dave said: "People come and see me a lot and it lifts me no end. It's wonderful and it keeps me in touch with the outside world."