A TEENAGER who beat the odds to survive a life-threatening injury is now doing his bit to support a local brain injury charity.

Max Brimble, from Batcombe, suffered a brain injury in 2001 when, aged just five, he was kicked in the head by a horse.

Now 18, Max benefits from the support of Headway Dorset at its premises in Poundbury and recently raised around £1,000 for the charity through a staged mixed martial arts fight.

His mum Carole Potter is also doing her bit to support the charity and was keen to sing the praises of Headway’s work.

Carole, who is doing a sponsored slim with her slimming group in Sherborne, said that because Max had no visible outward signs of his brain condition it was sometimes hard for other people to understand his situation.

She said meeting and socialising with other people in the same situation had been of huge benefit to her son.

Carole said: “It can be hard to get people to help somebody when it looks like nothing is wrong with them.

“This is the first place Max has gone where he meets people like him.”

Headway Dorset currently supports around 300 adults across the county, offering a range of support from rehabilitation work to social group sessions.

Specialist community nurse Kath Baker said that, while its rehabilitation services are largely funded, the charity relies on the generosity of the public and donations as well as its regular fundraising events to support its other work like its social and befriending services.

She said: “Donations are the lifeblood of a lot of what we do.”

Carole has been a staunch supporter and avid fundraiser for the group but said she was also keen to raise awareness as not enough people knew about the valuable work it does.

The charity, which has its head office in Poole, set up its Poundbury office last summer after moving from the Whitfield Rural Activity Centre outside of the town.

Kath said having a base in the community had helped make the charity more accessible to clients.

She said: “It’s much more of a community based service now we are in the centre of Poundbury.”

For more details on the charity visit headwaydorset.org.uk