SWIMMING accident victim John Tomlinson has an agonising wait to hear the result of his appeal court battle.

John was 18 when he dived head first into the lake at Brereton Heath Country Park near Congleton in May 1995.

He suffered a broken neck after his head hit the bottom, leaving him almost completely paralysed from the neck down.

He sued Congleton Borough and Cheshire County Councils, who manage the park, claiming they had not done enough to protect members of the public.

But his case was dismissed in the High Court last March, the judge ruling the risks from diving into the lake were obvious, and neither council could be blamed.

However John's lawyers were fighting last week to persuade three Appeal Court judges that Mr Justice Jack was wrong to dismiss the case.

Counsel Bill Braithwaite said both councils were aware the "No Swimming" notices were ineffective, and the judge had taken too narrow a view of the law when he dismissed the case.

The three judges who heard Wednesday's appeal are to reserve their decision until a later date.