Nineteen-year-old Joseph Flavill, who was hit by a car just before the first coronavirus lockdown, has now woken up with no knowledge of the pandemic.

Flavill, an air cadet from Tutbury in Staffordshire in England's West Midlands, has been in a coma since March 2020. He smiled for the first after hearing virtual flying lessons recorded by flying instructor and family friend Will Flanagan at Darley Moor Airfield in Ashbourne, Derbyshire.

"I was talking to Sally and Richard (Joseph's parents) about how I can help Joseph, and Richard - Sally's husband - came up with the fantastic idea of teaching Joseph to fly virtually on audio," Flanagan explained.

"Will did an audio for Jo of him teaching Joseph how to fly, and throughout FaceTime conversation, Sharon had the opportunity to play it to Joseph, and it was it was amazing it was the first time he smiled, so the connection was definitely there," Joseph's aunt Sally Flavill Smith said.

"Joseph is an incredibly wonderful man, very active, very sporty, he had loads of hobbies. He was a very key member of the air cadet, he'd have loads of opportunities going in different aircraft and fly a few times," she added.

In regards to the pandemic, Sally told the Guardian newspaper: “He won’t know anything about the pandemic as he’s been asleep for 10 months. His awareness is starting to improve now, but we just don’t know what he knows. I just don’t know where to start with it. A year ago, if someone had told me what was going to happen over the last year, I don’t think I would have believed it. I’ve got no idea how Joseph’s going to come to understand what we’ve all been through.”

The 19-year old who was hit by a car three weeks before Britain’s first national lockdown is slowly beginning to respond to friends and family.

Despite being unable to visit due to COVID-19, they are trying to keep Joseph’s brain stimulated by streaming messages via FaceTime.

Air Cadet Joseph Flavill from Tutbury, Staffordshire, smiled for the first time since falling into a coma in March 2020 after hearing virtual flying lessons recorded by flying instructor and family friend Will Flanagan.

The 19-year old who was hit by a car eleven-months-ago is slowly beginning to to respond to Friends and family (who are unable to visit the 19-year-old, due to Covid-19 restrictions) who are trying to keep Joseph’s brain stimulated by streaming messages, including flying lessons, via Facetime.