HAMPSHIRE hospital staff have rallied round to raise money to help a former colleague badly injured in an accident.

Jay Young, 22, worked in the housekeeping department at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester for three years until three weeks before the accident in March.

He was following in the footsteps of his older brother, Lewis, when he left the hospital to work as a stuntman at Legoland, near Windsor.

Just three weeks into his dream job his career was cut short when a rehearsal at the theme park went wrong. While attempting a backflip routine Jay, 22, landed on his head and broke his neck.

Colleagues from the hospital held a barbecue and disco at the East Social Club in Winchester, which has raised £1,770 to help Jay with his treatment.

Jay, a promising non-league footballer, has been transferred from Southampton General Hospital to Salisbury for treatment, but it is not known if he will walk again.

Sue Jones, housekeeping supervisor at the hospital, said: “We all wanted to do our bit to help Jay, who was a very popular member of staff. We all enjoyed the disco and Jay even made an appearance by telephone over the loudspeaker system – it was very moving.

“We all just hope Jay can get the best treatment available and we want to support him and his family.”