Paralysed from the shoulders down, Tom Nabarrohas paid tribute to his girlfriend as he rebuilds his life this week. The former pupil of Oxford's Cherwell School dislocated his neck in a snowboarding accident in April last year and has been paralysed ever since.

Mr Nabarro, 24, suffered three cardiac arrests and was unconscious for three weeks following the accident in Bulgaria.

He was unable to speak for three months after having a tracheotomy — a tube inserted into his throat to allow him to breathe — and then spent another year at Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

But he is now preparing for his future with his girlfriend of four years, Ellen Stewart, who will soon begin living with him in a purpose-built extension to his grandfather’s home in Standlake.

He said: "She's the reason I'm still here. Through the darkest moments that was my main thought. I didn't want to let her down — that's why I kept pressing on.

"If I would have given up that would have upset her, and that's the last thing I would want. It was always her in the back of my mind. That was my motivation."

Mr Nabarro left hospital in August to begin living in a “cramped and uncomfortable” spare living room at his grandfather’s home.

But last week he moved in to a new extension, complete with kitchen, bathroom hoist, bedroom and full-time carer’s bedroom at the house.

Mr Nabarro added: "It was a very surreal moment when I moved in. There was obviously a huge relief. It was quite emotional.

"It's so good to be comfortable and have space to whizz around in my wheelchair. It’s a brilliant feeling to be able to do what you want with the space."

Despite his injuries Mr Nabarro completed his electronics degree and tomorrow will begin work at the Roke Manor Research telecommunications company. He will commute to Romsey, near Southampton, twice a week but will work the other three days from his home and eventually from a specialised pavillion in the garden.

Mr Nabarro said: "I was very worried from the beginning that I wouldn’t be able to work because of the accident.

"But I kept it in my mind that my ability to think hadn’t changed. I’m nervous but I’m absolutely looking forward to it. It will be another good challenge."

Mr Nabarro’s grandfather Michael Graham-Jonescorr, 88, said: "It’s very nice indeed to have him here. He is astonishingly forward looking all the time. He is always looking forward, and not looking backwards with regret."