A boy left brain-damaged after jumping from a pier in Kent has spoken for the first time since the accident as he continues to astound doctors.

Jack Dolan, from Chatham, looked his mum in the eye from his hospital bed and said “help” - one month after suffering serious head injuries performing a flip off Stone Pier in Margate.

The 15-year-old was flown to a London hospital, where a scan revealed no brain activity – with the youngster tragically put on end-of-life care after having his life support taken away.

However, he has continued fighting and is now regaining control of his arms and his toes.

He has even been able to speak for the first time since the accident.

It had been thought he would never talk, move or be able to show emotion again due to his vegetative state.

In the most recent update, Jack’s stepfather, David Dolan, who has raised him from a young age, said: “Jack is blowing everything doctors said out the water.

“He is moving his arms, wiggling his toes, holding eye contact and, while in pain with belly ache, looked his mum in the eye and said ‘help’.

“We are putting him into experimental private treatment to see how much of Jack we can get back, so the goalposts have moved, the therapy is £8,000 and the tank for hyperbaric oxygen therapy to have in the home if it shows improvement is £38,000.

“He has defied the odds and is fighting so we have to do all we can to fight for him.”

More than 1,000 supporters have already contributed to the appeal, donating more than £28,000.

Jack’s mum Lisa, an NHS worker, will be giving up her job to care for him full-time but doctors cannot say how long he will live.

Since the accident, Jack has suffered from heart issues and seizures along with a chest infection and a collapsed lung.

However, while his family expected the chest infection to claim the 15-year-old’s life, he was able to fight it off with no medical intervention – even reinflating his lung by himself.

Mr Dolan also says with spots on his brain, Jack is likely to have a stroke at some point and has suffered two cardiac arrests.

He added that from his research it could be anything from six weeks to two years.

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.

Thankfully, Medway Council is finding the family an accessible house to live in, which will have to be adapted for his needs.

Donate to the appeal here

“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.”

And last week, The Howard School in Rainham paid tribute to the popular schoolboy who had attended the institution before the incident.

Head of school Jasbinder Johal said: “Jack is a very popular student with a larger-than-life personality and we were shocked and saddened when we heard the news about the tragic incident that happened.”