NICK Verron, who suffered terrible injuries after being stabbed in the brain with a screwdriver, has now recovered well enough to move into his own bungalow.

The 27-year-old was attacked on July 4, 2009, in Boscombe’s Roumelia Lane and the 17-year-old offender was jailed for seven years after admitting GBH.

Nick has spent endless hours since then exercising, practising simple movements and doing speech therapy to vastly improve his condition.

He still cannot walk unaided, his speech is a little slurred, and he still has double vision which “bounces” up and down.

His family and friends have spent four months gutting and rebuilding the bungalow, near his family home in Aylesbury.

Mum Sue told the Echo: “Nick has more confidence. He still does not go out alone but he is happy to spend time with friends.

“The small bedroom now holds weights, an adapted rowing machine and a Balancemaster, which appears to be helping substantially.

“We are hopeful that this move will be the next step forward, both literally and figuratively.

“Handrails will help him move around most of the house on his own two feet, until he can walk on his own.”

When Nick was first injured, his left eye was cross-eyed.

The right side of his body was paralysed.

His hand was twisted into a claw, his foot twisted inwards.

He couldn’t wiggle his toes, let alone hold a pen and write. He has overcome all those problems and recently got a new tattoo: ‘Possum Ergo Facit’ – I Can Therefore I Do.

Before the attack, Nick was living in Boscombe and earning more than £36,000 a year as a star salesman for Poseidon Telecom Services Ltd, of Ferndown.

Sue said: “The lasting effect on Nick and all the family is extreme. I still suffer nightmares and wake screaming.

“I still have the flashbacks.

“But he still makes progress at small, minute levels and we haven’t finished yet.

“We have tried to make him the home he deserves.

“He is both scared stiff and very excited – as are we all.”