A young man in hospital in Thailand is hoping to be able to fly home soon.

Gus Golding, 21, of Hove has regained consciousness after being in a coma for several weeks and his family are hopeful he will be able to return to Britain in the next few days.

City College student Gus, of Brunswick Road, has been able to get out of bed for the first time since he fell ill on his 21st birthday trip of a lifetime.

His aunt Jo Golding, of Bute Street, Brighton, said: "Gus hopefully will be able to come home within the next couple of days.

"He is doing much better but is still incredibly poorly.

"He still has chest drains in and is on oxygen.

When he flies back he will need medical support, he can't just get on a plane.

“He will have to be lying down for the whole flight and have medical assistance with him.

"His mum Julie has been talking to the PCT to be make sure they can get an ambulance to take him straight from the airport to hospital."

Gus's parents Mark and Julie have been at his bedside in the Bangkok hospital where he is being treated, but their friends and family are growing increasingly concerned about political unrest and rioting in the city.

The British embassy in Bangkok was closed yesterday (FRI) in response to an upsurge of violence in the Thai capital.

The Foreign Office has advised people against travel to Bangkok amid the anti-government "Red Shirts" protests that has rocked the city in recent weeks.

Ms Golding said: “Everytime we see the news we get more and more worried. We will be so glad when he is back home.”

Just flying Gus home will cost more than £11,000. His medical bills are expected to cost more than £40,000 and his insurers have refused to pay out.

Ms Golding said: "My heart goes out to Julie. For the first couple of weeks she was out there on her own in a foreign country where she couldn't speak the language. The hospital were pressuring her for money, her son's in a coma and all the while she's worried she's going to lose her baby."

Ms Golding is planning a car boot sale to help raise funds to pay for Gus’s medical bills. The sale will be at Carden Junior School playing fields on June 6.

Ms Golding is desperately appealing for good quality donations which can be sold at the event.

Anyone with items to donate should contact Ms Golding on 01273 240484.