A soldier left brain damaged after serving in Afghanistan is locked in a bitter legal battle with his ex-wife who is trying to claim his last £200,000.

Simon Vaughan, 31, was paid £1.1million by the Ministry of Defence after he was left with life-changing injuries when his vehicle was hit by a Taliban roadside bomb in Helmand Province in December 2008.

Seven-figure sum: Donna Vaughan (left, pictured leaving Telford County Court today) is locked in a divorce row with her estranged husband Simon (right, with his mother and carer Lynne Baugh outside the court)

But after spending thousands paying for their house to be adapted to fit his needs, Mr Vaughan - who is able to speak only with the help of a computer and is confined to a wheelchair - has just £200,000 of his payout remaining.

His wife, Donna Vaughan, 33, who left him on Valentine's Day in 2013, is trying to claim £185,000 of the money as well as monthly child maintenance fees of £1,500, a court heard.

Separated: Corporal Simon Vaughan with his estranged wife Donna - they split in February 2013

Mrs Vaughan, who does not work, says she needs the money to be able to care for their children - aged 13 and two.

Mr Vaughan returned to Britain with a shattered pelvis, a broken back and collapsed lungs in December 2008. Doctors were so convinced that he would not survive the journey home that he boarded a plane with an obituary pinned to his bag.

Outside court: Corporal Vaughan (centre) and his wife spent £297,000 on a bungalow near Newport, Shropshire, in December 2009 at a time when he was still recovering from the bomb blast

Yesterday, Richard Sear, representing Mr Vaughan, told Telford County Court that Mrs Vaughan was asking for £100,000 to pay off the mortgage on one of the couple's two properties as well as £85,000 for legal bills.

He said: 'In effect that is the entirety of the £200,000 he has left. I suggest this would not be a fair or sensible outcome.'

The financial row is centred around the home the couple bought near Newport, Shropshire, in December 2009 at a cost of £297,000.

Brain damage: The court heard Mrs Vaughan controlled her husband's finances and even purchased the property against the advice of the Army

The home was placed in Mrs Vaughan's name and she controlled her husband's finances. After buying the property, known as Pinewood, builders discovered that it was structurally unsafe and needed to be ripped down.

Corporal Vaughan, pictured during his days serving in the Army, was seriously injured by a roadside bomb

Mr Sear told Mrs Vaughan that she went ahead with the purchase of the house despite there being 'obvious problems'. Had Mrs Vaughan not chosen to buy and then rebuild Pinewood, her husband would still have £350,000 to live on, he added.

It is understood much of the compensation payment Cpl Vaughan received has been spent on alterations to his home. He has so little left, there is concerns about whether he will have enough to cover the costs of his care

Mr Sear also argued that Mrs Vaughan should 'bear some financial responsibility' for choosing to rebuild the house.

Cpl Vaughan made an astonishing recovery after returning from Afghanistan, where doctors believed he was very likely to die

But Mrs Vaughan said: 'Pinewood was supposed to be a forever home, something [Mr Vaughan] could leave our children.'

After being treated at two hospitals, Cpl Vaughan recovered at Headley Court rehabilitation centre (pictured)

She added: 'People are forgetting all about our little boy who's going through hell. I've got to try to do the best for my children.'