A couple have put their house on the market to pay medical bills for a family member who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Rizvan Doda said he and wife Laura, from Banbury, could not stand by and see his brother-in-law Rrach-man Xheka die, so they pledged to do anything they could to save him.

They flew to Greece where Albanians Mr Xheka, 33, and his wife Luftima, 29, and daughter Jenny are living.

Greek doctors said Mr Xheka's liver cancer was too advanced to operate, but Mr and Mrs Doda took his scans to other hospitals for advice.

One doctor told them about a specialist cancer hospital in Germany, the Heidelberg University, but said an operation would cost 40,000 Euros (£31,500).

Although Mr Xheka had paid into a medical insurance policy, there was a technical issue when he swapped jobs and insurers, which meant he was not covered.

Without hesitation Oxford Bus Company driver Mr Doda, who drives between Kidlington and the city centre, took out a £25,000 loan and two childhood friends each donated £7,000.

Mr Doda said: "Rrachman's family were very distressed. The shock and stress of the illness triggered an epileptic fit in his five-year-old daughter Jenny, the first since she was a baby, so she was in hospital. Luftima, his wife, was stick thin."

When Mr Xheka arrived in Germany he was told he had a day to live, but after drugs and a nine-hour operation he was on the road to recovery.

Four days after he was admitted, he was sitting up in bed. Mr Doda said: "It was worth it to see the smile on his face, after three months on a drip."

But there were complications. Mr Xheka got an infection and needs a second operation costing at least 60,000 Euros (£47,300).

The couple have now put their three-bedroom home in Beaulieu Close, Banbury, on the market for £179,950.

Mr Doda, 31, said: "Money doesn't matter that much, you can never give a person their life.”

Mrs Doda, 33, who works at Vodafone, in Adderbury, said Mr Xheka's wife and daughter were living in Albania with her husband's parents.

She said: "We’re happy to sell our house if it will enable us to raise the funds for Rrachman's operation.

“We’re prepared to do what it takes if we can save his life.”