'Hero' husband on the way to recovery after car smash

THE wife of a teacher who suffered serious head injuries after they were both hit by a car while on honeymoon in Italy has said her husband is on the way "to recovery" but that she is taking his progress one day at a time.

Newlyweds John and Nicola Tams were both rushed to hospital in Naples after being hit by a speeding car in Sorrento, just days into their honeymoon.

Thirty-year-old Mr Tams, a craft and design teacher at Dalkeith High School, was thrown 30ft in the air and suffered head and face injuries, as well as a broken leg and ribs.

Mr Tams was put into an induced coma by Italian doctors, but his condition has been improving over the past few days.

Mrs Tams, who suffered four broken ribs, visited her husband on Thursday for the first time since the accident after she was released from hospital. She said he had been sedated but was able to tell her that he loved her.

Speaking from her hotel room near Naples Hospital, where her husband is receiving treatment, she said: "I hadn't seen John for seven days and when I went to see him for the first time (since the accident], the first thing he said to me was that he loved me. That's what I needed to hear.

"He managed to build the strength to tell me that and even the doctor at his bedside looked at me in amazement.

"He's still in intensive care but he was moving a wee bit.

"I explained everything to him and told him where I had been and sorry I hadn't got here quicker."

"We are just taking it day by day. By Monday he might get a report from the doctor but we need to take each day as it comes."

Care worker Mrs Tams, 31, who has vowed to stay with her husband until she can bring him back home, added: "He is on the right road to recovery.

"He is a hero."

Mr and Mrs Tams, from Bonnyrigg, had been returning to their hotel in Sorrento after a night out at 1am on July 9 when they were struck by a speeding car. Police in Sorrento said a 22-year-old local man was detained and questioned following the accident.

It was reported last night that the local man has been charged with grievous bodily harm over the incident.

A spokesman for the local Carabinieri said: "A 22-year-old man was detained, questioned and charged with grievous bodily harm and released.

"Investigations are ongoing and he could appear at court at a later date."

A fundraising campaign has been set up by members of Hearts' supporters team Real Maroon, of which Mr Tams is a member. Visit www.clubwebsite.co.uk/realmaroon.