A wife has been raising funds in South Woodham Ferrers for her husband who suffered a life- threatening stroke which resulted in part of his skull being removed back in March.

Joanne Smith, a 48-year-old wife and mother on a mission, aims to raise enough money for neurological treatments and speech therapies to ensure 49-year-old Geoff can “become the man he once was.”

The event took place September 1 and raised just over £2,000 of a £10,000 goal for the dad as part of their ‘Geoff’s Journey’ fundraiser.

Joanne said: “The fun day was a huge success, full of entertainers such as Bam Bam and Natalie Lomax to name but a few.

“Unfortunately, due to Geoff being taken poorly the day before, he was only able to attend an hour of the day from 3 pm.

“But when he arrived, he got a true hero's welcome as all entertainment stopped as everyone gave him a massive round of applause.

“Geoff was so emotional about this and shed a few tears.

“We didn't have a set figure in mind so anything we raised was a massive bonus for Geoff's recovery.”

Joanne and her three children hope to get Geoff the best treatment they can even after reaching the ‘two-year plateau’ that many believe is when progress slows.

Joanne added: “Geoff, like you all, deserves to not just be a statistic and more needs to be done to highlight the importance of long term continued recovery after in-patient rehabilitation.

“We cannot put a price on Geoff's recovery and his and our family's future so we will continue for as long as we can to ensure that Geoff has the best possible chance of making a full recovery.”

Brave survivor Geoff is now six months into recovery after having the emergency lifesaving decompressive craniectomy that saw the left side of his skull removed.