YOUNG Aaron Bruton has come home to his family and been welcomed back to his school with a big 'thumbs up' after surviving a traumatic year of treatment for a brain tumour.

The seven-year-old from Lydbrook has undergone both chemotherapy and radiotherapy after a marathon ten-hour operation to treat the tumour.

Father, Charlie Bruton, says it's going to be a: "long road to recovery, but he is improving on a day to day basis".

Aaron's ordeal began almost exactly a year ago. His father takes up the story.

"There were little things, little signs. Headaches, sometimes falling over, nothing really out of the ordinary, but they built up. But just after his sixth birthday he became very poorly. He had difficulty walking, even standing. Then there were really bad headaches and vomiting."

Things came to a head late last June. After consulting family and the doctor at Dockham Road in Cinderford, Charlie and wife, Sharon, took Aaron to hospital, first to Cheltenham and then to specialists at Frenchay in Bristol.

"They gave us the diagnosis and told us what the options were. I think it breaks your life completely in half. They told us what needed to be done was an operation, but there were lots of risks. What they were telling us was that Aaron either had it done or he would be facing a limited life. What do you do?"

By this time Aaron had become almost "lost" says his father. He couldn't speak or feed himself or remember anything.

"He'd gone from being a really bright cheeky talkative little boy to being completely closed down. A different child."

Aaron came home at around Christmas time and is now making a steady recovery, although his speech is slow and he does need help to walk.

But as a sign of his remarkable progress and enduring spirit, Aaron has returned to his classmates at Lydbrook Primary School and a warm welcome.

"It was great to have Aaron back home," says Charlie. "We had almost been living day and night in the hospital. He's now back at the heart of the community. The teachers, the families and the children from the school have all been absolutely fantastic.

"What can I say, it was a massive occasion when he went back to the school. Like going back in time. Getting Aaron back to normality, to everyday life."