Bristol teenager Andrew Bryce has had his life saved for the second time in 13 months after surviving meningitis while on a trek in southern Africa.

Last year Andrew, 16, received serious head injuries when he was hit by a car near his South Gloucestershire home.

The swift reaction of a friend and the arrival of the Great Western Air Ambulance (GWAA) team helped save his life and the youngster made a good recovery.

But in a month-long trip of a lifetime with his school, Andrew became critically ill with a bacterial form of meningitis and had to be airlifted from Livingstone in Zambia to Johannesburg in South Africa for urgent treatment.

His desperately worried parents, Adrian and Sheri, were flown out to be at his bedside and stayed with him for 16 days until he was well enough to return home to Charfield.

Today Andrew said: "I'm a lot better now but still feel a bit weak. I tell people I've still got seven lives left after what's happened to me this last year."

His dad, 44, said: "When we arrived at the intensive care unit at the Johannesburg hospital and saw him lying there, we just thought 'we've been here before'. He had got away with it last time and all these terrible thoughts went through our heads.

"When he was in the accident last year, I was one of the first at the scene and that was pretty horrific. We just couldn't believe he could be lucky enough to recover a second time."

Andrew was in intensive care for 10 days before being moved to a side ward and even the day before the family were due to fly home, he became unwell and needed a scan to check for any blood clots that could be heading for his heart.

But eventually he was well enough to travel and after a couple of weeks of recovery, has just started a college course in media studies.

One of the first people he told of his latest drama was Rhonda Collins, the critical care paramedic who treated Andrew last year in Charfield with her air ambulance colleagues.

Mr Bryce, an insurance assessor, said: "He sent her a text saying 'guess what Rhonda?' She was aghast."

The accident happened just after Andrew had got off the school bus. He was knocked unconscious, suffering serious head injuries and losing several teeth. Sixth former Vicky West, 17, also of Charfield, put him into the recovery position to help him breathe and the helicopter crew were at the scene within 20 minutes.

They anaesthetised him before flying him to Frenchay Hospital, where he remained in a coma for several days.

Andrew and his family – Mrs Bryce, 40, is a midwife at Southmead Hospital and he has a 15-year-old brother, Chris, and a 10-year-old sister, Megan – have since remained in contact with the air ambulance team and raised money to keep the helicopter flying.

Andrew also visited the team at Filton after his accident to thank them for their care and the crew took the helicopter to Katharine Lady Berkeley's School in Wotton-under-Edge, where Andrew was a pupil at the time, for a fundraising event.

Andrew went on the trek during the summer break after gaining his GCSEs.

He said: "I only really missed the last part of it but those last few days are a bit hazy. I don't really remember much about my illness but vaguely remember being in hospital and waking up when mum and dad were there.

"I've now been airlifted to hospital twice – the second time was in a plane – but I don't know anything about either journey."

Mr Bryce said: "The trip had been arranged by the school with World Challenge, who were absolutely brilliant and arranged everything for Andrew when he was ill and to get us over there.

"The group had helped out in an orphanage in Botswana, had done some trekking and were meant to be going to Victoria Falls.

"When Andrew first became ill he was taken to hospital in Livingstone but then had to be flown to Johannesburg.

"It was a terrible time but we're just so glad to have him home."

The family, of Woodlands Road, are planning their next fundraiser for GWAA at Leyhill Social Club on October 30 and anyone interested should call 01454 260065 for details.