AN APPEAL to help a teenager terribly injured in a fall has topped £20,000 in 20 days.

Noah Rees was out celebrating a friend’s birthday when he leaned against the promenade railing on Brighton seafront.

The 18-year-old lost his balance, fell backwards and crashed ten metres to the ground below.

Noah, who had dreams of becoming a professional rugby player, lost consciousness and fell into a coma.

He punctured his lungs, suffered mini strokes and broke his back and skull, causing serious brain damage.

His father David Rees, 44, from Peacehaven, said he was still in shock after discovering what had happened to his son, a pupil at Cardinal Newman School in Hove where he was rugby captain.

He said: “I couldn’t really believe it, I still can’t. This accident might change his life for ever.”

It happened near the Fortune Of War pub on the seafront opposite West Street.

Mr Rees, a solution architect at Gatwick, said Brighton Beach Patrol saw Noah fall and called an ambulance.

He said he, his wife Anna and Noah’s siblings Dylan and Martha and step-siblings Josh and Lily were grateful to the emergency services for acting so fast.

Noah, who won the “nicest person award” at school and led Newman College Rugby team to victory in the national college’s championships, fell on May 11 and has since been in the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton.

He was transferred to a rehabilitation unit in London on Monday. Mr Rees said: “I don’t know if he’ll walk again but he has started to respond by nodding and squeezing and laughing which is promising.

“He’s had half of all the 18-year-olds come in and his friends’ parents have been so supportive and are looking to arrange a fundraising day for rehabilitation costs on August 31.”

Doctors are impressed with Noah’s progress but are unsure what the future holds.

The teenager has had messages of support from professional rugby players Zach Mercer and Marcus Smith.

Mr and Mrs Rees have set up an internet account updating everyone on his progress and it now has more than 2,500 members.

They raised more than £20,000 in 20 days for his rehabilitation.

Noah fell shortly before he was due to take his A-levels.

A school spokeswoman said he was an “excellent student and role model” who was a born leader with an infectious personality and a wide friendship group.

She said: “His tenacity, strength and courage are inspiring and both staff and students wish him the best with his recovery.”

Visit Noah's gofundme page here: www.gofundme.com/comeonnoah and Noah instagram