The sister of battered Robert Hughes faces losing her job if she continues to care for her brother abroad.

Alaina Hughes, 22, the office clerk for a company in Wallington, said she must attend a disciplinary hearing when she returns home.

Miss Hughes has been at her brother’s bedside ever since she heard of his attack on June17.

She said: “They have asked me why I am here and said that I’m not Rob’s carer and I should be at work.

“But I need to be here to support my brother and my parents.

“I’ve watched him go from a vegetable state to be able to walk a little, but it is slow progress and there needs to be two people watching him at any one time - we can’t rely on the nurses.’’ Miss Hughes said her employers had reported her British doctor to the British Medical Association when the GP accidentally issued an incorrect form.

She claimed she has not received any sick pay since leaving and the matter was causing her “nothing but stress’’.

She said: “I’m suffering very badly.

“It’s making my life a misery.’’