By Ian Gordon, PA Sport

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Manchester's Adrian Turner could reconsider his plans to quit the sport after completing a remarkable comeback from a life-threatening illness with Commonwealth Games medal glory.

The 25-year-old grabbed bronze in the 400 metres individual medley last night in his first major Games since contracting a kidney disorder that is only meant to affect babies and old people.

Turner fell ill on a pre-Christmas break to Scotland in 1999 and needed six pints of blood as doctors battled to save his life, with his parents, Joyce and Roger, making a Boxing Day vigil to his hospital bedside.

But his parents, along with sisters Caroline and Beverley, the ITV star who is engaged to Olympic rowing champ James Cracknell, were at the Manchester Aquatics Centre to watch him shatter his personal best to seize bronze.

"I was thinking of knocking it on the head but maybe not now," said Manchester United fan Turner, who came home in four minutes 18.75secs, with Australia's Justin Norris taking gold in a Games record of 4:16.95.

"In my wildest dreams I could never imagine this moment. I nearly died a few years ago so I didn't think I would ever picture myself with a Commonwealth Games medal."

Turner, who lost one-and-a-half stone as he spent around two weeks in hospital, added: "It is difficult to put into words, it is heaven-sent.

"Sometimes I didn't think I would swim again and when you have blood-transfusions you don't think you will get in a pool.

"I took it one day at a time and thought about only one thing for the last 12 months. I worked really hard and it has paid off.

"I didn't think I would get a medal, that was only in my dreams. I was a long way down with 100 metres to go but I have been working on my back-end speed so technically it was a good race.

"I am not sure where it came from but the home crowd definitely helped. And it was great that all my family were there to see it."