HEALTH chiefs have offered £700,000 compensation to a man left in a wheelchair.

The money will be paid to 67-year-old John Brunt, of Liversedge, after health trusts admitted mistakes and delays in his treatment.

Mr Brunt was being treated for back problems, but the mistakes in the care he received left him a quadri- plegic.

He is now cared for by his wife, Joan.

Mr Brunt, a former warrant officer in the Royal Signals Regiment, spent 22 years in the Army.

He was treated at hospitals in Dewsbury and Leeds in 1998 for degeneration of the discs in his back.

But there were delays and he was left permanently disabled.

Dewsbury Healthcare NHS Trust and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust admitted breach of duty. They offered the money in an out-of- court settlement.

Mrs Brunt said her husband could do nothing for himself.

She added: "We are trying to rebuild our lives, but it has been a struggle."