A British Jewish doctor is behind a new treatment for spinal cord injuries, which has been hailed as a historic breakthrough.

Geoffrey Raisman, who grew up in Leeds, pioneered a new method of treating injuries previously thought to be incurable.

The method was successfully tested on Polish firefighter Darek Fidyka, who has now learnt to walk after being paralysed from waist-down after being stabbed with a knife four years ago. Cells from the 38-year-old’s nose were used to re-grow cells in his spine.

Professor Raisman, the chair of neural regeneration at the UCL Institute of Neurology, who led the research team, said: “It is immensely gratifying to see that years of research have now led to the development of a safe technique for transplanting cells into the spinal cord. I believe we stand on the threshold of a historic advance and that the continuation of our work will be of major benefit to mankind.

"I believe we have now opened the door to a treatment of spinal cord injury that will get patients out of wheel chairs. Our goal now is to develop this first procedure to a point where it can be rolled out as a worldwide general approach.”

Mr Fidyka said walking again was “an incredible feeling. When you can’t feel almost half your body, you are helpless, but when it starts coming back it’s as if you were born again.”