A boy left brain-damaged after jumping off a pier is to be brought home in a vegetative state after his body was stronger than doctors anticipated.

Jack Dolan, from Chatham, was knocked unconscious after performing a flip off Stone Pier in Margate.

The 15-year-old was flown to a London hospital but a scan revealed no brain activity.

He was put on end-of-life care after having his life support taken away - and the plan had been for him to be moved into a hospice.

But after checking his vitals, doctors have said his body is stronger than they thought, and he is not suitable for hospice care.

Jack’s mum Lisa, an NHS worker, will be giving up her job to care for him full-time.

His stepdad David Dolan, who raised him from a young age, told KentOnline: “They told us we could put him in residential care, foster him or bring him home.

“My kids have never had a babysitter. I’m certainly not, when he’s at his most vulnerable, giving him to someone else to look after.

“I’m not willing to put him in a care home - that’s my baby boy.

“So he’s got to come home. Which, to be honest, makes it twice as traumatic.

“That’s not my son. My son died in the water. That’s just a heartbeat, a warm body.”

Doctors could not confirm to the family how long he will live.

Mr Dolan says that from his research it could be anything from six weeks to two years.

He added: “Not knowing is horrific. I’m at home and I walk past his room and sob because my son is gone.

“But then I go and see his body and I can’t even grieve because I’m going to see him but he’s not there.

“Even if he had terminal cancer or something he would still have his personality and we could give him some happiness, but we can’t give him anything.

“I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy because you can’t grieve his loss but you’re getting a body back that's going to sit in the living room and deteriorate and die.

“It’s impossible to explain.”

The family previously told how Jack was “fun-loving and wild as they come”.

At that time, they thought his death would “only be a matter of time” due to the severity of his brain damage suffered when jumping into the water on June 23.

But Mr Dolan explained today: “He’s got spots on his brain so he’s going to have a stroke at some point. He has problems with his heart and he suffered two cardiac arrests.

“Kids don’t usually survive that, their bodies aren't strong enough.

“But Jack was so fit, so strong and so healthy which is what you want for your boy but that has almost worked against him now because if he wasn't so strong he wouldn't have survived.”

Due to Jack’s vegetative state, he will never talk, move or be able to show emotion.

His stepdad explained: “He will never move, talk, or show emotion.

“He’s on so much medication that he’s rarely awake but when he is his eyes flicker around the ceiling.

“There’s nothing there, he’s brain dead.”

The family will continue to fundraise for his funeral and for home adaptations.

Thankfully, Medway Council is finding the family an accessible house to live in.

“Credit where credit is due, they acted really fast,” he added.

“It’s just some horrible void we are in now. He’s not dead but he’s not alive.

“My Jack is gone and there’s just a body to constantly get upset about.

“It’s a fate worse than death.”