Sue Martin, who's husband Mal was given "almost zero chance he was going to survive" as he was fighting for his life on a ventilator in the Princess of Wales hospital, South Wales, has revealed his condition is improving.

In a statement she said: "Incredibly nine days after being told that Mal has almost zero chance of survival and myself and the children going to say our goodbyes, Mal is still with us.

"It is now day 17 on the ventilator and the hospital said that he is moving into the weaning phase. Weaning from the ventilator and rehabilitation is going to be an extremely long, slow and painful process and there are no guarantees it will be successful, but we are prepared for whatever it brings.

"We are so so grateful for the ICU team who are continuing to care for Mal, they and everyone else on the front line are wonderful human beings.

She added: "We are overwhelmed with all the support we have received from around the world , thousands of lovely caring and hopeful messages from people all rooting for Mal. I’m just sorry I cannot reply to everyone of them."

Last week Sue wrote an emotional piece in the Telegraph in which she detailed the pain of waiting for the daily phone call from the hospital with an update on the condition of her husband, who is the chairman of a recruitment firm and suffers from diabetes.