A businessman has described his ten-year struggle to overcome life-threatening injuries to open a thriving community shop.

Jaginder Singh, 34, was left fighting for his life when the motorcycle he was riding was in collision with a lorry during a holiday in Thailand in 2002.

The owner of Krishanco newsagents in High Street, Wanstead, was in a coma for two weeks after suffering multiple fractures to his skull, jaw, leg and arm – losing four pints of blood.

He was eventually transferred to hospital in London, where he spent seven months, followed by years of rehabilitation, including speech therapy.

Describing his struggle, he said: “The first thing I remember was waking up in a hospital bed in London.

“I would not wish the recovery process on my worst enemy.

But Mr Singh’s determination paid off and after getting back on his feet, he decided he wanted to make a positive contribution.

Despite stiff completion from large chains such as Tesco, Co-op and numerous other newsagents in high street, Mr Singh says his business is successful because he works on building close ties with customers and the wider community.

He said: "For example, what we do that the big supermarkets do not is provide a paper delivery service.

"We have hundreds of people signed up and the list is growing.

“It is important that people see us as part of the community.

For more on this story, see this week's Guardian - out Thursday