A man who was placed on life-support after falling from a third-storey building and fracturing his skull is beginning to walk and talk again.

Kurt Russell, from Corringham, was helping a friend move his belongings in a property on December 27, on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin.

During the move, Kurt, 32, fell over a balcony and plummeted three stories to the ground.

The dad-of-two fractured his skull and neck and had a bleed on his brain.

Kurt was then rushed to hospital, where he received emergency treatment, and was then flown over to the Cayman Islands, where he was placed into an induced coma.

Last week, Kurt’s family received a message from the doctors at the hospital he is staying in to inform them that he had been taken off the ventilator and was breathing without support again.

Since then, Kurt has been undergoing therapy to help him walk and talk again.

Kurt’s father flew out to the island on Saturday, to see his son and the progress that he has made.

His sister Tyla, 28, has been sent regular updates from the nurses at the hospital, including videos of him learning to walk again.

Miss Russell, who lives in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, said: “He’s progressing really well.

“I have just been sent a video by the nurses of him trying to walk down a ward.

“His memory is still affected. The doctors have told us that his brain needs to catch up.

“My dad flew out on Saturday to see him.

“He told me that he is talking now but his sentences are a bit slurred.”

Kurt’s story became widely reported after a Just Giving page was set up to help pay for his medical fees.

Kurt, who lived between Saint Martin and the UK, had been out in the Caribbean Island without any medical insurance.

So after the fall, his family were left with a bill of $70,000USD to pay for his treatment - which equates to around £52,000.

Desperate to see their son survive, Kurt’s parents sent over £30,000 to pay for him to be transferred over to the hospital on the Cayman Islands where he was placed on life-support.

This left the family in debt.

So Kurt’s sister, Tyla, set up a JustGiving page with the aim of raising £50,000 to pay off the money that had already spent as well as the remainder of the medical costs.

Tyla’s plea did not fall upon deaf ears and and within only a few days of being active, the page managed to accumulate more than £10,000 from more than 200 generous supporters.

The donations are still building up with nearly £15,000 now.

Tyla continued: “It has slowed down a bit since the page first went up, but it is still doing well. I am very grateful for the support everyone has given us.”