A dad who had half his skull removed after a sudden stroke has beaten the odds to walk, talk and ride a bike again.

Geoff Smith, 54, had let his dogs out into the garden when he suffered a middle cerebral artery stroke and fell and hit his head.

His wife Jo Smith, 53, found her husband unresponsive in their living room and realised he was having a stroke.

Geoff was rushed to hospital and the family were told his chances of surviving were just five per cent - and if he did he'd be left severely disabled.

He underwent a decompressive craniectomy to remove a large part of his skull to allow for his swelling brain to expand.

Geoff spent five and a half months in neurological rehabilitation and was miraculously back walking nine weeks after his stroke.

Jo has continued to find intense therapy for Geoff and says he is "70 per cent back to the old Geoff" and is back to work one morning a week, walking and talking.