A mum who was told she would never walk again has astounded doctors by stepping out in Maidstone town centre - just a year after having a near deadly stroke.

Hannah Green thought she had trapped a nerve when she lost the feeling in her arm at work in January last year.

Her colleagues at Notcutts garden centre offered her a cup of tea but the 47-year-old went to Maidstone Hospital when the sensation started in her face.

She collapsed in her husband Andrew’s arms in the waiting room.

Two days later she still had not regained consciousness and was transferred to London’s King’s College Hospital for a lifesaving operation to relieve the pressure in her head.

Mr Green, who also works at the garden centre, said: “I was told to be prepared for the worst so all sorts of things were going round in my mind.

"The following 72 hours were critical after the operation but luckily she pulled through. The worst thing was getting a call at 2am one morning, which I thought was from the hospital, but it turned out to be a wrong number.”

A piece of Hannah’s skull had to be removed and she spent the next 10 months in hospital – at King’s, then Maidstone and Sevenoaks for rehabilitation.

He added: “The moment I realised there was hope was when I took in a picture of our two children and she could name them both.”

Since then she has been having weekly physiotherapy sessions, and last week she took her first steps out in public since it happened.

She managed to walk 100 metres with her physiotherapist Jane Cast in Brenchley Gardens and has so far earned £1,350 for the Stroke Association.

Mrs Green, who lives in Bedgebury Close, said: “I was told I would never walk again but my husband and I decided I had too much to live for. On the morning of the walk I thought I couldn’t do it, but I’m glad I did.”

She also thanked staff at Notcutts, which have supported her and her family throughout her recovery.

To sponsor Hannah visit her Just Giving site.