THE family of a former rugby league player have launched a campaign to raise money to buy a specialist vehicle to aid his recovery.

Scott Bessant, 34, was found in the early hours of the morning on Sunday, August 13 last year, on Pentwyn Lane, Abersychan.

The Bessant family said that their brother received the following injuries during the incident: multiple fractures to his skull, a fractured neck, 12 fractures to his back, a fractured pelvis, a bleed on the brain, a broken collarbone and broken ribs and damage to the diaphragm.

The ex-Welsh Dragonheart had been in a coma until February 2018.

Brother-in-law Neil Chere, who lives in Pontypool, said Mr Bessant’s condition has improved recently.

“We still do not know what and who he can recognise,” he said.

“He cannot speak nor feed himself at this time.

“But he has come on a long way since being in a coma all those months ago.”

But he added: “I have to stress that there is still a very long way for Scott to go.”

In a bid to hopefully improve Mr Bessant’s rehabilitation, the family have

now launched a campaign to raise money to fund a specialist vehicle for him.

“Scott’s children do visit him and the day outs he has are restricted to being near Rookwood Hospital because of the need to use a specialist vehicle,” said the 48-year-old brother-in-law.

“The sad part is we cannot get him into any of the family’s vehicles because he is 6ft 4in. We want to be able to take him out of the hospital more often. And the only way we can do this is by getting a specialist car that can accommodate for Scott.

“The specialist car would allow us to wheel Scott into it from the back."

Mr Chere added: “If Scott sees new surroundings it could help him more.

“The car will cost a few thousand pounds so we will be organising fundraising events soon.”

There is no new information about the incident.

E-mail neil.chere@outlook.com to make a donation.