Surgeons in Australia have rewired the nerves inside some paralysed patients' bodies to restore movement to their arms and hands.

They can now feed themselves, put on make-up, turn a key and type at a computer.

The pioneering surgery has been described in medical journal The Lancet as a huge advance which could have a life-changing impact on paralysed people, although the procedure does not restore fine control (of each finger) and does not work on all patients.

Lead scientist Dr Natasha Van Zyl said it was like "being a bit of a biological electrician".