THE fiancee of a Bolton man who suffered severe head injuries after being hit by a car has been told that he probably will not be home for Christmas.

Susan Bentham and David Gallagher had been planning to get married next summer after being together for more than four years.

But their lives were turned upside down when Mr Gallagher, aged 46, was hit by the car just minutes after speaking to Susan on the phone to tell her he was on his way home.

The Bolton Wanderers fan had been watching the game against Liverpool on TV with friends in the Uncle Tom's Cabin pub in Lever Street, Daubhill, on Sunday, October 1.

On his way home, he was hit by a silver Vauxhall Corsa as he crossed Lever Street. The driver stopped at the scene after the accident and was questioned by police.

Mr Gallagher was treated for serious head injuries, a shattered pelvis and two breaks in his right leg.

It is now feared that he may not recover from the brain damage caused by the accident.

Miss Bentham, aged 43, of Little Holme Walk, Daubhill, described how she felt when she heard he had been seriously injured.

"I just started screaming because I couldn't believe it," she said. "He had only called me 10 minutes earlier to say he was on his way home."

Mr Gallagher, a driver for Hampsons bakery, spent nearly three weeks on a life support machine before being moved to North Manchester General Hospital where doctors are now waiting for swelling on his brain to go down before they attempt to repair the damage to his pelvis.

"He is in and out of consciousness. He knows me sometimes but other times he doesn't," said Miss Bentham.

"The doctors say they don't know how bad the damage is yet. I asked them if he would be coming home for Christmas and they just said not to build my hopes up.

"We were supposed to be getting married next year, but all that's had to go on hold now."

Miss Bentham said Mr Gallagher had lost a lot of weight and has been told it could be a while before he makes any kind of improvement.

  • Police are still investigating the theft of medical equipment from an ambulance while paramedics were attending to Mr Gallagher. Thieves sneaked into the ambulance and took items including stethoscopes and a blood pressure gauge.