Scott Keating (17), of Andrew Macdonald Close, Harborough, was surprised when he was presented with the chair at a darts presentation night.

His mum Donna Panter (37) had told Scott the chair would be delivered in a few weeks. She said: “He was sat with his back to his new chair and one of the ladies was going to say something to present it to him but she was too excited and said ‘just turn round’. He burst into tears and he got in and had a spin.”

Miss Panter helped raise £1,600 through darts tournaments to buy the specialised chair, from a Loughborough-based company, for Scott to enable him to move more freely when playing sports.

Scott is half-way through a 19-week ‘Step into Sports’ course, at Loughborough University, which will advance him into teaching.

He said: “It was quite a surprise when I got the chair because I thought it wouldn’t be delivered for another week. I used it for the first time last week at a training session with the Leicester Cobras wheelchair basketball club. I can turn using one wheel so it’s definitely lighter, which means I can move around faster.”

Scott has been going to Ashfield School, in Leicester, which is a boarding school for children with special needs, since he was five years old.

Scott plans to stay there for a further three years to complete his GCSEs.