Scuba diving, backpacking and even bungee jumping - how former Lutterworth rugby player has lived his life 40 years after paralysing injury

Andy Bell was told he would never walk again after a serious sports incident in 1985 left him paralysed from the neck down.

The then 24-year-old was unable to move for three months before he began gradually getting some movement back.

He explained: “I was a bit of a wild child. The accident slowed me down. I was told the wheelchair I needed was £1,000, which was a lot in those days, so I thought ‘I can’t afford that so I’ll walk out’. I just had a pure determination to do something.

“You can only do what your body allows you to do. It depends what you get back but you have to fight for it and push yourself as far and hard as you can. And with support from family, friends and Lutterworth Rugby Club I was able to do it.”

The dad-of-two went on to get a job as a warehouse clerk, before training for a forklift license.

He explained: “I wasn’t satisfied to sit behind a desk and wanted to get myself behind a forklift. I never really classed myself as disabled. I adapted – I was gardening while leaning on a stick with one arm and hoeing with the other.”

Not only did Andy continue to work in physically demanding jobs, in 1990 he went off to Australia on a solo back-packing trip where he scuba dived and even did a bungee jump.

He said: “It took nearly an hour to climb up the stairs – someone took my crutches and ran back down so it was either taking a helicopter or jumping down.

“I also went scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef, even though I can’t swim. It was a thrill. Just me and my crutches and a small bag.”

Andy’s adventures didn’t stop there. He toured with the rugby club, going as far-flung as Canada for white water rafting, and the Injured Players Foundation supported him to buy a motorhome. Andy and his wife Marylin were able to travel and wild camp around Europe along with their dog Storm and a quad bike.

He added: “Nothing has held me back since the accident.”

Andy, who now suffers from osteoporosis in his spine, says it's only now he’s ‘facing up to being disabled’.

However, despite some physical limitations, he enjoys pottering around his garden as well as fishing and clay pigeon shooting while still making the most of life with Marilyn who he now cares for after she was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease.

He says waking up with a smile is a big factor in navigating life with a physical disability.

“Take stock of what you’re going to be capable of, push yourself, never think you’re disabled. You’re another person who can live life to the full no matter what your circumstances are. In this day and age nothing can hold you back with the help available today.

“You’ve got to wake up every day with a smile. I was told once, ‘you’ve never not had a smile on your face’. I still wake up with one today. You have to work with what you’ve got and stay positive.”