AT LAST they are a family again. After more than a year and a half of living 80 miles away, Chris McBeth is finally back home with his parents and sister in Southampton.

The teenager was admitted to Tadworth Court children's centre, Surrey, after a car accident in May 2003 left him severely disabled.

Last year, doctors declared him well enough to be discharged but the family home in Aldermoor was unsuitable and nowhere big enough could be found.

Now, while they wait for a property to be converted to meet Chris's needs, the family has taken the plunge and rented a house in West End.

The move has bought them four precious months with Chris, 15, before they move into their permanent home in Swaythling in May.

Delighted mum Claire McBeth, 34, said: "We are complete again now.

"It has been an extremely difficult time for us. It is lovely having Chris home. We have been fighting for this for a long time.

"As soon as we told him this was where we were going to live, he beamed."

Learning support assistant Claire, who made the 160-mile round-trip to Tadworth more than 115 times, added: "I was at breaking point in the end. I phoned up every night to ask how Chris was but all the time we felt he should be home with us."

Dad Neil, 35, said: "We thought it would be really hard work having Chris home but it hasn't been too bad. We have had a lot of help and, after what we have been through, having to move home twice is a breeze."

Chris, who was a pupil at St George Catholic School, Swaythling, survived against all odds after being hit by a car as he crossed Lordshill Way, Lordshill. Now brain-damaged and confined to a wheelchair, he is unable to speak but is making good progress at the Rose Road Association's Bradbury Centre.

However, just when Claire, Neil and daughter Chantelle, 12, have finally got Chris home, they have another battle on their hands.

Chris desperately needs a standing frame to enable to him to get out of his wheelchair for hour-long periods.

Claire said the £4,500 equipment was vital to prevent bone problems, but was not included in Chris's care package. Family and friends are going to try and raise the cash themselves.

Staff and pupils at St George School have already held fundraising events and Chantelle is planning a sponsored swim.

Anyone who can help should call Claire on 07981 539618 or Sarah Cole at the Daily Echo on 023 8042 4501.