WHEN former Evening News deputy editor David Train suffered severe brain damage in a freak holiday accident, it was not just his own life that changed forever.

The intelligent and experienced journalist was left wheelchair-bound and in need of constant care after disaster struck when he went swimming in France more than 10 years ago.

The 53-year-old father-of-two's wife, Sue, even confessed it would have been better to let him die.

As well as struggling to come to terms with the fact that her husband was a shadow of the man she married, Sue has had to devote much of her time to looking after him.

She was, and still is, determined to keep him at home rather than putting him into care.

But the strain this has put on her has impacted on her own health. Sue sank into depression after the accident, and when she began to get her life back together, she suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage - burst blood vessels in her brain - which left her with reading and memory problems.

The 55-year-old, of Froxmere Close, Crowle, was not helped by the lack of suitable support on offer to her and David.

Although he receives respite care two days in every six, he has to go to Evesham Community Hospital for this.

"It has been a real struggle to get him good respite care and a good social life," said Sue.

"He gets respite care in a hospital ward, but he's not ill.

"He doesn't need hospital care - we've got an excellent district nurse. Someone else must need the hospital bed more than him."

However, Sue believes she is one of the luckier carers in the county. She believes there are many other people in similar positions who are not being given any outside support.

Together with the Worcester branch of Headway, a charity that supports people with acquired brain injuries and their families, Sue now wants to set up a respite centre in Worcestershire for David and others like him.

Shirley Atkins, a Headway director, said the development of such a centre could help keep couples together.

"A lot of marriages break down because support isn't there for the partner," she said.

"If you are looking after a child, it's more natural, but if it's a partner it's not. You're married to a different person - their personality changes, and you have nobody to share the problem with.

"Your partner shouldn't have to go into hospital to give you a break. You need to go into a suitable place and be with similar people."

The problem facing Sue and Headway is lack of money. With funding from social and health services at a premium, it falls to charities to establish suitable centres by bidding for grants and hand-outs.

There is respite care available for people with different needs, but for people with head injuries, who have specific and complex needs, there is precious little help available.

Headway has raised funds for projects such as sheltered housing in recent years, but Ms Atkins said the money needed for a tailor-made respite care centre would be in excess of £500,000.

Before starting to raise funds, the charity is keen to find out how many people from the county would use the centre if it were developed.

After establishing this, it would be able to launch another ambitious bid for Lottery funding.

They then hope funding to run the centre would come from Worcestershire's health and social services.

Headway would also like to hear from any organisation that may have a suitable building for it to use.

"It doesn't matter how big and posh the building is, as long as it is run by great staff," said Sue. "But it needs to be a place that people enjoy going to. Nobody enjoys going to hospital."

It is likely to be a difficult and frustrating task for the charity. Worcestershire's health Trusts are having to make extensive cutbacks to services at present, and the county's social services are also hampered by a tight budget.

However, for unsung heroes such as Sue, who have selflessly given up their own lives to look after their loved ones, the provision of a respite centre is crucial.

Anyone who feels they would benefit from a respite centre for people with acquired brain injuries or other severe disabilities should call Shirley Atkins at Headway on 01905 729729.