A GWENT couple who were hit by a lorry during a holiday in Tenerife are facing a long road to recovery.

Robert and Carole Thomas are now back at their home in Waunfawr Park Road, Crosskeys, after flying back from Playa de las Américas last week.

They were hit by a lorry on a zebra crossing in the popular resort on March 28.

Mr Thomas, 58, suffered from a fractured skull, and Mrs Thomas, 55, was knocked unconscious after a blow to the head and also suffered from internal bruising.

The couple caught a flight home as soon as Mr Thomas, 58, was released from Hospital Sur, but were accompanied by a medic.

Mr Thomas is waiting to hear what treatment he will need in the future, but is not expecting to have any more operations.

He still has to see a neurologist and has been told it could take eight months to make a full recovery.

He is able to get around the house, but finds noises painful - even the sound of a running tap can be too much for him.

Cleaner Mrs Thomas, who was in a wheelchair at first, is now walking again, but still gets pains and has problems with feeling giddy.

Despite facing a long road to recovery, the couple remain optimistic.

Mrs Thomas said: "At the moment we are taking each day as it comes, we just thank God we are alive it could have been so much worse."

Mrs Thomas says she doesn't remember being hit by the lorry. She said: "The first I knew of it was when I woke up in the hospital the following day.

"It was a shock - I didn't know where I was. When they told me what had happened I just started to pray straight away."

The couple's three daughters, Carla, 33, from London, Rachael, 30, and Faye, 21, flew out to be with their parents. And after a few days in hospital, Mrs Thomas was allowed to go and stay with her daughters in a hotel.

She was in a wheelchair and still felt very ill, but Mrs Thomas says her daughters looked after her.

She said: "It made everything one hundred percent better to have my daughters there with me.

"I just couldn't have got through it without the children."

She added: "My sister, family and our friends have been wonderful.

"We have been overwhelmed by the support everyone has given us. It's such a caring community, we've been inundated with cards and flowers. We can't thank everyone enough.

"It's just great to be home."

The couple had brought Post Office travel insurance before travelling and understand the insurers will cover all their costs. Mrs Thomas said the lorry driver stopped and she said he accepted liability.