A BELOVED teacher and father has been flown back to the city following four agonising months trapped alone in a hospital in China.

Bob Allison, 68, has finally been able to return to Worcester following a fundraising campaign that raised more than £54,000.

Claire Allison, 32, set up the GoFundMe on March 16 and reached her goal of £40,000 within six hours, but has only just managed to arrange get her beloved father back into the country.

She said her father arrived in the UK on Saturday with the assistance of a Chinese repatriation team and was then transferred to the Stroke unit at Worcester Royal hospital.

"I spoke to him briefly en-route. He coped well with the journey and seems in good spirits," she said on the fundraising page.

She thanked people for their support and donations, and said the funds had been 'invaluable' in covering her father's medical fees and journey.

Mr Allison taught in Worcester schools for 40 years and had been working in a middle school in Yangzhou, China before suffering from a stroke on January 4 this year.

Miss Allison told the Worcester News previously: “Over the last few months of 2020, dad’s health deteriorated significantly, and he suffered from confusion and several accidents, culminating in this stroke at the very start of this year.

“Since January, he has been receiving treatment at Yangzhou hospital, but despite two months of rehabilitation he is still unable to stand or walk independently.

"The stroke has left him largely immobile in the left side of his body. He also has a worryingly high blood platelet count, leaving him at high risk of having another stroke.

"He is also very low mentally, I worry that the longer he is left there the worse he will get. He is confused and depressed. He doesn’t know why he can’t come home, no matter how much I try to explain I am trying my best."

Miss Allison added: “I am so overwhelmed by the generosity shown by the community, we didn’t ever expect it to take off like it has. We felt guilty for setting up the page, we wanted to find the money ourselves. But, with no end in sight and the mounting costs, we realised we needed help.

“I never dreamed that we would hit our goal in such a short amount of time, I am so grateful. This money will make a huge difference. It just goes to show how many people dad touched during his career. It is such a relief to know that we can now do all we can to bring him home. We really appreciate it."