For the past year, Croydon man Douglas Waters' sight had slowly been losing his sight.

It came to a point where he lost all sight in his right eye and struggled to read anything at all.

But then the 86-year-old decided to take part in a clinical study using genetically engineered tissue implanted into the eye in the hopes of regaining his sight.

Now he feels "so lucky" that the treatment worked.

"In the months before the operation my sight was really poor and I couldn't see anything out of my right eye," Mr Waters said.

"I was struggling to see things clearly, even when up-close.

"After the surgery my eyesight improved to the point where I can now read the newspaper and help my wife out with the gardening.

"It's brilliant what the team have done and I feel so lucky to have been given my sight back."

It is the first time an engineered piece of tissue has been successfully used to treat people with sudden severe sight loss.

Researchers believe it could lead to an "off-the-shelf" treatment for age-related macular degeneration within five years.

Professor Lyndon da Cruz, consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: "The results suggest that this new therapeutic approach is safe and provides good visual outcomes.

"The patients who received the treatment had very severe AMD, and their improved vision will go some way to enhance their quality of life.

"We recognise that this is a small group of patients, but we hope that what we have learned from this study will benefit many more in the future."