A new service for people who have suffered brain injuries has been opened in New Malden.

Heads Up offers speech and language therapy, a support group, support to live independently and activities like pottery, woodwork and IT.

About 20 people are already using the Crescent Resource Centre in Cocks Crescent but there may be many more that could benefit.

Joanna Tkaczyk, the acquired brain injury co-ordinator, said: “There’s a massive gap in service provision. After they are discharged from hospital we don’t really know what happens to them.”

Moore Magagula, 47, suffered a brain virus a few years ago and started to lose his short-term memory. He started to get annoyed at not being able to do household tasks and couldn’t continue with his security guard job.

He said: “I would say I will wash up later and forget until it became much later.

"Mostly it was frustrating but I overcame that frustration through the activities I was given here.

"I’m now doing the crossword and reading books. It is starting to get better.”

Technical architect Scotty McLeod, 43, was out with friends one night after work when he found himself being sick and staggering along the tracks at Clapham Junction.

He was hit by a fast-moving train which nearly killed him.

He now finds it hard to communicate and uses a mobile phone with a keyboard to speak to people. He said: “I’m lucky because most of the damage seems to be of the slowly going away and not my reasoning and intellectual abilities.”

Mr McLeod runs the group’s website at kingstonheadsup.org.uk.

For more information call Joanna Tkaczyk on 020 8547 6605.

• For information on health services, see our Local Information section