AT SEVEN years old, Lewis Coombes and his younger brother Tyler used to make tapes of themselves speaking.

The pair used to talk about their day at school, what had happened in the playground, any news they had to share.

It was how they used to talk to their dad.

The tapes were put in a recorder and played beside Kevin Coombes bed as he lay in a coma, having been knocked off his bike on his way home from work causing catastrophic brain injury.

A rigger at Fawley Oil Refinery, their larger than life dad lay in hospital for weeks. Initially the family were told to expect the worst.

"I remember coming home from school to be told my dad would not be coming home," said Lewis.

"It was a really difficult time. I remember making tapes for him to listen to while he was in bed."

Following extensive tests Kevin's prognosis remained grim with the expectation that he would likely never walk again.

Physically he was broken with a shattered pelvis and numerous other injuries.

But it was his brain injury that would prove to be life changing.

"I remember when I was told he had woken up for the first time from the coma. I was in school and my whole class cheered. I still have that memory very clearly," Lewis added.

However, the high impact trauma which he suffered when he was hit by the car on January 14, 1990 sending him crashing to the ground, robbed Kevin of his mobility, speech and entire way of life.

Had he been wearing a cycle helmet, the impact may not have been so devastating.

His struggle to literally get back on his feet, learn how to speak and regain something of his former life is what has now inspired Lewis to raise awareness and money for a charity that support those with brain injuries, Headway, and another cause close to his heart Kick4Life.

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When he gets in the saddle to take on the epic challenge of cycling 969 miles from Lands End to John O'Groats, Lewis will be 35 - the exact age his father was when his life was changed for ever.

Speaking of his attempt Lewis said: "It is a big challenge for me. I am not exactly built like a cyclists. But as the date approached and I realised I would be the same age my dad was when it happened I really wanted to do something to mark it in a positive way.

"I am now in that position that dad was in, I have a family,m I am working. All that changed for him in that moment. this challenge will hopefully raise awareness about the work of Headway and Kick4Life."

Kevin's recovery has seen him defy doctors to walk again has since retrained as a social worker. He and Lewis also enjoy watching football together, moments that Lewis, a reporter for BBC South, treasures.

"It is great spending time with him and hard to believe how far he has come. It may well be the rigger in him, the gritty determined, get-on-with-it approach. But he has and this journey I have set myself is in recognition of that."

In an even more poignant move it is hoped Kevin, now 60, will be able to join Lewis as he sets off on his challenge which begins next September, and rise with him for the first mile. It will be the first time he has been back on a bike on a road since his accident.

"It will be a big moment for him if he can do it. That is the hope."

Speaking of his admiration of his son Kevin, who new lives in the New Forest said: "I have always brought Lewis and his brother up to set themselves challenges and try to achieve them.

"The one word that came to mind when he told me what he was going to do was 'admiration'. I am so proud of him. "

The challenge: Lewis will be a part of the Deloitte Ride Across Britain challenge where riders take on Britain’s world famous long-distance cycle challenge.

It will involve riding 969 miles from the most south westerly point of Cornwall to the most north easterly tip of Scotland beginning on September 9 2017 and finishing on September 17.

He hopes to raise £3,000 doing it which will be split between headway, the brain injury association and Kick4Life which uses the power of football to give hope to the communities of Lesotho.

Lewis has also started a campaign among local bike shops to give a discount to customers when purchasing cycle helmets and quoting Lewis LeJog - the name of his challenge.

So far, Solent Cycles in Whiteley, Chase Cycles in Waltham Chase and the Giant Store Southampton have signed up.

To support Lewis please visit lewislejog.org