A PARALYSED man has become the first person to ride the length of Britain using a bike he controls with his chin. Andy Walker, 47, completed a 1,000-mile route from Land’s End to John o’Groats in two weeks on Saturday on his battery-powered quad cycle. The former competitive swimmer was 28 when he hit a rock diving into the sea in India , paralysing him from the neck down.
Speaking about his world-record-setting achievement at the finish line, Andy said: “It’s emotional. “I was crying my eyes out. “Without a doubt, it’s the biggest challenge that I’ve ever encountered in my life.
READ MORE UK NEWS “It’s never been done before - probably for a good reason - and I definitely wouldn’t think about doing it again. “There’s a sense of relief. “I can’t wait for a pint, without a shadow of a doubt, and I want to find out how the football is getting on.
“But it’s been amazing, and I’ve enjoyed the pain of it because that’s the challenge. Most read in Health “I want to set a precedent and say to the spinal community, people coming through, ‘Look what you can do with a positive mindset, great support and a sense of purpose’." Andy, from Oldham , previously rode 350 miles across Kenya , but said this was much harder.
Andy raised more than £12,000, some of which will go to Leeds Hospitals Charity for its new Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease . A spokesman for the charity said: “We have been absolutely amazed by his dedication.”.
