Father-of-two Neil Durrant, from Maidstone, was leading an active and healthy life when he suffered what he thought was flu.

He was unexpectedly diagnosed with a rare condition which left him paralysed from the neck down.

“It was like I was a one-year-old old again,” Mr Durrant said as he explained the symptoms of encephalomyelitis, an unusual syndrome that causes inflammation of the brain and spinal cord.

The 39-year-old, of Pippin Close, Coxheath, started to feel unwell with what he suspected was flu, but realised something was seriously wrong two days later, when he started to lose the feeling in his legs.

The head green keeper at Dale Hill Golf Club, in Ticehurst, was taken to Maidstone Hospital before he was transferred to King’s College Hospital in London.

Within a day, Mr Durrant was paralysed from the neck down.

He said: “I wasn’t in any pain but I just couldn’t do anything. My brain wasn’t sending signals so I had to learn how to walk, eat and move my hands again. It was very frustrating, especially as I’m an active person.”

The keen sportsman underwent a series of procedures and spent three weeks in intensive care before he started physiotherapy.

"My brain wasn’t sending signals so I had to learn how to walk, eat and move my hands again" - Neil Durrant

Since Mr Durrant’s diagnosis in May last year, his condition has vastly improved.

He said: “I would say I’m 70% back to my normal self. I’m back at work, my speech is better and I can walk again, but I need sticks to help me. I had to take another driving test, which I passed.”

Mr Durrant, who previously lived in Collier Street, is full of praise for both hospitals, especially after nurses arranged for him to be at his wife Lisa’s side when she gave birth to their daughter Phoebe on June 19 last year, which is also his birthday. Mr Durrant, who was discharged a month later, said: “The staff were fantastic. They made sure I was there with Lisa.

“I had the feeling back in my hands, but I didn’t have any core strength so I had to be strapped to a chair to hold Phoebe.

“I was just happy I could be there to hold her.”

The couple are also parents to five-year-old son Finley.

Toolroom Records, in Maidstone, will host its annual charity night on Saturday at the town’s Source Bar, in Rose Yard, in support of King’s College Hospital.

Funds raised will go towards a dedicated unit doctors are looking to launch for illnesses such as encephalomyelitis.

Mr Knight, who owns the music label company with his DJ brother Mark, is close friends with Mr Durrant. He said: “The care and support given by all the staff at King’s was exceptional.

“Neil has been asked to consult on the development of this specialist unit so it seemed a great cause to help finance.”

Tickets are £10. Doors open at 10pm. For more details visit www.thesourcebar.co.uk.