A beloved dad and weather enthusiast who suffered headaches and an abnormal sense of taste was later left fighting for his life.

Steve Wall, from Folkestone, collapsed after having a stroke and ended up needing life-saving surgery to remove part of his skull.

Supported by his loving family, the 55-year-old remains in hospital and now faces immense changes to his daily life.

His son, Harry Wall, explained: “Steve was a very active, healthy guy, and this came out of nowhere.

“He had been feeling a bit unwell in the days leading up to it, complaining about an abnormal taste and some headaches, and his wife noticed that he generally didn’t seem himself.

“When he was at mine for dinner on Friday night, he mentioned he thought he had sinusitis because of the congestion in his head. So he went to the gym and sauna early Sunday morning to try and clear it.”

On Sunday, January 19, after his gym session at the Grand Burstin Hotel in Folkestone, dad-of-three Mr Wall was found collapsed.

A member of staff called an ambulance, and he was taken to Kent and Canterbury Hospital having suffered a stroke.

Hours later, Mr Wall, a senior project manager at Balfour Beatty, was transferred to Queen’s Hospital in Romford, where two days later, he underwent surgery to remove part of his skull due to brain swelling.

After a week in intensive care, he was transferred back to Canterbury and is currently in a neurological rehab unit undergoing physiotherapy, speech and language therapy and neurological counselling.

But the stroke has changed Mr Wall’s life forever. He is now blind in his left eye, with limited use of his right leg and is without the use of his right arm, which is unlikely to return.

The grandfather now struggles with communication beyond simple words and phrases, with complex sentences requiring assistance.

In a bid to aid Mr Wall with his new life, his family have launched a fundraiser to make essential modifications to his home. This will include adding a downstairs bathroom and reconfiguring the decking in the garden so he can enjoy time outdoors.

The funds will also allow him to explore advanced therapies to aid in his recovery.

Son Harry, 31, added that the family have been stunned by the support, with the fundraiser already raising more than £11,000.

He said: “It’s been completely overwhelming.

“I was chatting to his wife, who’s been at his side through all of this and it brings forward feelings of love and support.

“I guess it drums home how well-liked he is and how people have been moved by his story.

“As a family, it’s sort of comforting to know how respected and cherished he is.”

Harry added how difficult it has been for the whole family, with Mr Wall’s 17-year-old son Archie and 16-year-old daughter Annabelle starting an apprenticeship and their GCSEs respectively.

It’s also been hard for Harry’s daughter Isabella, who just turned three and is not yet used to not being able to play with her granddad like she used to.

A life-long Folkestone resident, Mr Wall has amassed more than 15,000 followers on his two Facebook pages, both titled Kent Weather, for his weather forecasts in the local area.

His friend and fellow enthusiast Mark Whyte said: “Steve used to spend a lot of time analysing many different global weather models to pull together his daily forecasts.

“He had years of knowledge built up to be able to read the detail in these weather models and form a prediction for sometimes up to two weeks ahead.

“The models were one element which was aided with local climate knowledge and his own records which he has kept for years.

“Using all this information his forecasts were consistently accurate to a high standard.”

Harry added: “It’s only recently dawned on me how it used to genuinely be such a use to so many people. He’s done it for as long as I can remember, and whenever mates come up to him, they’re always talking to him about what the weather’s going to be like.”

With Mr Wall, also a keen photographer, set to be discharged in late May, the family also hope to raise awareness about spotting signs of the rare cerebral artery stroke he suffered.

His wife Lyndsey, said: “If sharing his symptoms helps someone else get early treatment for a dissection, preventing such a catastrophic stroke, our work will be done.

“In the 23 years we've been together, we've hardly spent a night apart. The words of comfort and love from all his weather family and friends gave us so much strength when things were really rough during his operations.

“It took me ages to pluck up the courage to open messages, and when I did, I cried and cried and cried. I then had a job as his PA, replying to messages and reading comments to him, and it was so good to have a distraction and purpose throughout all the trauma.

"The doctor told us that for young stroke survivors facing such a drastic loss of independence, the biggest predictor of a good recovery is belief and trying to hold depression at bay.

“I'll do whatever it takes to help him find joy and provide a safe environment for him.”

Warning signs to watch for include sudden headaches or neck pain, dizziness, blurred vision, numbness, a pulsing sound in one ear, drooping on one side of the face or trouble swallowing.

Mr Wall added: “People fall in love with Steve easily, but to hear what he means to so many folks who've never met him is truly amazing.

“He makes such a positive impact on everyone, he's a peacemaker and hilarious. A top dad, husband, friend, and colleague always wanting to make people happy and share the beauty he sees in the world around him.

“Everyone can be a little more 'Steve', give and take all the hugs, enjoy all the sunrises and sunsets, see all the beauty in the world around you, be of service to others and go about your day spreading sunshine.

“You never know what tomorrow holds.”