A inspirational man who overcame the odds to run the London Marathon following a brain injury has been nominated for a national award.

Peter Brown, from Orpington, suffered a rare type of stroke caused by bleeding on the surface of the brain while on his way home from a day out with friends playing football.

Shortly after setting off, the 29-year-old was found at the bottom of a train station staircase and to this day he has no memory of what happened.

Pete had broken his eye socket and almost bitten through his tongue, but it was the injury to his brain that would prove life-changing.

He was rushed to hospital and placed in an induced coma to help stabilise his condition.

Despite the severity of his injury, Pete woke from a coma after 24 hours and was quickly transferred from the intensive care unit to a high dependency ward.

In the early days, he struggled with short-term memory loss and communication problems, chronic fatigue, and mobility issues.

Headway - the brain injury association - was able to help Pete's family during a tough few months.

To everyone's surprise, he was discharged from hospital after just two-and-a-half weeks and he was able to return to his role as a bank manager on a full-time basis just a few months later.

Just over a year after the accident, and three weeks after he got married, Pete ran the London Marathon to show his support for the work of Headway.

He said: "The charity had done so much for me and my family during my recovery. It's just an incredible cause.

"Not only that, but I also wanted to prove to myself that I could still do the things I used to be able to do.

"The London Marathon felt like the perfect challenge for me."

"It's so amazing to be recognised for my efforts to help Headway and raise awareness of brain injury" - Peter Brown

As well as focusing on his own recovery, Pete felt passionately about supporting and inspiring others.

This prompted him to keep a blog as he built up to the London Marathon - Brain injury - a marathon not a sprint.

In it, Pete detailed the highs and lows of training for such a physical challenge with a brain injury.

It was his dedication that earned him his nomination as Achiever of the Year at Headway's annual awards ceremony.

The winner of the accolade, which is sponsored by Slater & Gordon Lawyers, will be announced at the awards luncheon at the InterContinental London Park Lane in Mayfair on 6 December.

"There are so many people doing amazing work to help improve the lives of brain injury survivors and to be appreciated as one of those people feels great," said Pete.

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