A BMX rider left brain damaged after an unprovoked attack in Shortlands has fulfilled his dream of walking down the aisle to marry his sweetheart.

Twenty-seven-year-old Jamie McKechnie, from Lee, married fiance Ellen Murphy, 28, on Saturday (September 20). The couple have been together six years.

On August 15 2011 Jamie was punched in the head at Shortlands station. He was airlifted to King's Hospital in Camberwell, where doctors gave him a 30 per cent chance of survival.

After waking from a coma a few weeks later he was unable to walk and his speech was severely impeded.

Against the odds Jamie battled back to health - and recently started riding his BMX again. 

On Saturday he achieved a goal he has been working towards since the incident: to walk up the aisle unaided and marry the love of his life.

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He told News Shopper: "It was such a big achievement for me to be able to walk up the aisle for Ellen - I still can't believe it all happened.

"I felt so much love from everyone supporting me.

"It was amazing having all our friends and family there to share it with us - the atmosphere was so positive and full of love.

"Ellen means the world to me and this is just the beginning. I always knew she was the only one for me and now we look ahead and plan for our future together."

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After an afternoon ceremony at St Johns Church, Deptford, the wedding party then moved on the Rosendale in Dulwich for a sit down meal and evening reception.

Ellen said: "We waited until the evening reception to do the speeches so all our guests could share them with us. 

"This was the really emotional part of the day as the best man and maid of honour, along with my Dad and me, spoke about everything that we'd gone through to get to this point. 

"That's when I finally lost it and burst out crying. Jamie also did a beautiful speech which was a great achievement for him."

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She added: "It was so overwhelming to have everyone there showing us so much love and emotions were high. I think everyone had cried at least once by the end of the day.

"It felt so amazing, like we finally reached a goal that we had set ourselves - for Jamie to walk down the aisle and get married. 

"I'm so excited for what the future holds, to see how Jamie will continue to progress and get stronger, and eventually start a family together. We both want lots of kids." 

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