A YOUNG Worcester actor is fighting back from an accident that could have left him paralysed and would certainly have ruined his career.

Matthew Milward is in the final year of a three-year BA Honours degree course at Bird College of Dance and Theatre Performance in Sidcup, Kent.

Recently, Matthew, aged 24, woke in the middle of the night and, crossing the landing to go to the bathroom, tumbled down the stairs, lying in a crumpled heap at the bottom. His mother, Brenda, of St John's, said: "The pain in his arms was intense. He had fractured both arms. He got up to raise the alarm, not knowing at that time that he had actually broken his neck.

"When the ambulance crew realised his neck was damaged they strapped him up so that he couldn't move his head. In hospital his neck was strapped and his arms were plastered too.

"When they X-rayed they found that he had broken the third vertebra at the front of the spine. They told us that if it had been the one behind, at the back of the spine, Matthew could have been paralysed."

The injuries could have proved a major setback for performing arts student Matthew, whose ambition is to join a London musical and later teach musical theatre.

"He's always wanted to go on the stage. His neck is stable and his arms are still in plaster but he has already been back in college. Luckily, most of the final assessments have been done, especially for dancing.

"He has even been given the lead role in a play that the college is staging in April. Fortunately, there's no dancing involved and he hopes to be out of plaster by then," said Mrs Milward.

Matthew is a former member of Worcester Operatic and Dramatic Society's Youth Section and also of the group's parent company WODS. He took many lead roles with the youth section.

He was also a dancer at Worcester's Harlequin Stage School, a member of the Birmingham Royal Ballet Junior Associates, dancing in The Nutcracker.