A Selby rail crash survivor who feared he would be wheelchair-bound for life walked down the aisle with his bride today.

Train steward Thomas Kaplanis feared he would never walk again after the devastating crash which left him with a broken back.

But, thanks to the love of his fiancee, Marie Estrada, the 32-year-old has battled against his injuries.

Thomas said: "I lost a lot of good friends in the crash, I thank God I'm alive but I still have nightmares and flashbacks.

"That's why my wedding day is so special, I didn't know whether I would live to see it."

Staff nurse Marie, 29, agreed to marry Thomas last Christmas after a whirlwind romance but was left devastated by the Selby disaster.

Marie, from Newcastle, had been visiting relatives in the Philippines when she heard about the crash in February.

She said: "I was frantic, I couldn't speak to Thomas because he was unconscious and I couldn't get a flight for two days. The possibility of losing him would have killed me.

"When I saw him I asked if he wanted to postpone the wedding. He said 'no'. But I would have got married at his bedside if necessary."

Thomas, originally from Greece, was working as a waiter on the GNER express from Newcastle to London when it derailed and collided with a goods train, killing 10 people.

Seconds earlier the train had hit a Land Rover which had landed on the tracks after skidding down an embankment.

Thomas, who now walks with a stick, recalled the crash, He said: "From the moment we derailed to the point when we crashed was 25 seconds - and it was the longest 25 seconds of my life.

"It was all in slow-motion. I thought, "This is it, I'm going to die" I was just praying.

"They always say in movies that your life flashes before you and that is what happened.

"When the train stopped my first thought was to get out and try to help other people.

"I managed to get into the field but I didn't realise my back was broken."

Thomas recalled how he and Marie fell in love.

He said: "We met last summer and it was love at first sight, but we didn't start going out with each other until September.

"I lived downstairs from her and we used to pass each other but never really dared speak. Eventually I plucked up the courage to ask her out to dinner.

"I proposed to her on Christmas Day. It was very quick, but I fell in love so why wait?"

And Marie added: "I had suspected he was going to propose, but not so quick. I started crying, which he took to mean yes!"

Updated: 15.10 Friday, May 18