A paralysed man with a completely severed spinal cord has learnt to walk again in a “historic” British-led breakthrough that raises the prospect of treatment for a condition previously believed to be permanent.

The patient, a firefighter, was left with no movement or feeling from the waist down after being stabbed four years ago. In a revolutionary procedure, cells from his nose were transplanted into the damaged part of his spine. He recovered the ability to walk with a frame, learnt to drive again and has been hunting with friends.

The patient, Darek Fidyka, 38, from Poland, said that the experience was like being reborn. “It’s an incredible feeling, difficult to describe,” he said. “You’re at a certain moment in your life when you think