Wellington, June 15 NZPA - The New Zealander who became known as the "Elephant Man" due to the violent reaction he had in a drugs trial, has become a father.

David Oakley, 37 -- originally from Christchurch -- had volunteered for the trial to help pay for his wedding and mortgage but was instead left battling for his life, along with five other men when they had a violent reaction to the drugs.

Today, the British newspaper The Mail on Sunday reported that despite having been diagnosed with precursor signs of cancer, he has become a father.

David and his 31-year-old wife Katrina -- another New Zealander -- celebrated the birth of their daughter Hayley 11 days ago, the newspaper reported.

Only two years earlier, the New Zealander had lain in intensive care, fighting for his life after taking part in the disastrous "Elephant Man" drug trials at London's Northwick Park Hospital.

Six men suffered devastating reactions to a drug billed as a potential wonder cure for leukaemia and arthritis.

Mr Oakley survived but has found himself damaged both mentally and physically.

His first Father's Day was a celebration he and Katrina had scarcely dared to hope for.

They told the Mail on Sunday that the clinical trial's debilitating side-effects will, in all likelihood, plague the New Zealander for the rest of his life.

He remains at high risk of developing cancer.

His short-term memory has been destroyed and he can work only part-time.

Cradling his new daughter in his arms with a look of helpless devotion, Mr Oakley said: "I just can't believe she's here after all we've been through.

The couple got married during his convalescence, but waited to have a child.

"First of all we lived in the moment but then David had another test which said that the pre-cancerous cells hadn't developed and we decided to push on with our lives," Mrs Oakley said.

Before the trials, Mr Oakley had his own driving school and the couple lived in a flat in Ealing, West London.

Now Mrs Oakley, a statistician and data analyst, has become the main breadwinner.

Six men tested TGN1412, a drug designed by German manufacturer TeGenero in trials run by Parexel, an American company.

Within an hour of being injected with the drug, all six men had their heads swell -- leading to the "elephant man" description -- while their organs shut down one by one.

The main physical side-effect of the trial is very bad muscle pain, mainly in his back but sometimes in his thighs and knee joints.

The only compensation the six men have received is a stg10,000 ($NZ26,336) interim payment from TeGenero, which has since gone into liquidation.

Parexel, meanwhile, has so far refused to admit any liability, although the administering of the drug is alleged to have contributed to the adverse reaction.

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