Paralysed Milnrow man sails solo on Derwentwater

Andy Walker (centre) with helpers

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Andy Walker, who was left paralysed from the neck down following a diving accident in Goa four years ago, doesn’t like to let life hold him back.

An inspirational character and former amateur rugby player, Mr Walker, 32, from Milnrow, is always looking for new challenges and his latest adventure saw him brave a Force Five gale for a solo sailing voyage across Derwentwater in Keswick.

His place on the week-long sailing course run by The Back-Up Trust charity was sponsored by Irwin Mitchell law firm, which has set up a bursary fund to support the charity.

Mr Walker explained: “It was absolutely fantastic to have the chance to sail the boat on my own. The weather was awful and the water quite choppy so it was a real challenge both for me and the instructors who had never dealt with anyone with my level of injury before.

“I did a capsize exercise by toppling into the water, which took a lot of trust on both sides. By the end of the week, I had learned how to operate the boat on my own and was able to sail solo. It was a fantastic challenge and a phenomenal week and what I learned there will help me in the work I do in mentoring people with disabilities.

“I am always on the lookout for new challenges but this really pushed the boundaries of what I thought I could achieve and the feeling of freedom on the water is one I will never forget,” he added.

Mr Walker was on holiday with friends in Goa when he broke his neck in a diving accident. Doctors feared he would be left brain dead, and although he survived, he was left paralysed, without the use of his arms and legs. He now spends his time mentoring people with spinal injuries and other disabilities, travelling and completing challenges including this year’s Greater Manchester 10k run.

He is one of 10 spinally injured people who have taken advantage of Irwin Mitchell’s Back-Up Trust bursary fund across the UK. Others have undertaken activities including water skiing, kayaking and camping on Exmoor and a city break to Edinburgh.

Grahame Codd, Regional Managing Partner from Irwin Mitchell in Manchester, said: “We are very proud to be supporting the bursary for the Back-Up Trust. We deal with people on a daily basis who are living with the consequences of spinal injuries.”

“The work the charity does is invaluable to people with such injuries, providing them with opportunities to build their confidence and surpass their own expectations of what they can do in a positive and enjoyable way.”

Bea Richardson, fundraising manager at the Back-Up Trust said: “It means a great deal to receive the sponsorship from Irwin Mitchell as this enables us to support more people with spinal cord injury to surpass their aspirations.

“Back-Up courses can be a life changing experience for participants but are also expensive to run. All support, that helps us to achieve our aims of spinally injured people pushing outside their comfort zone, is very important.

“The money we received is being utilised to provide bursary places for people with spinal cord injury (SCI) to attend our courses. We usually ask people to make a donation towards the costs of their place but not everyone is in a position to do so – the Irwin Mitchell Bursary allows us to reach those who require a course place, regardless of ability to contribute.”

Approximately three people a day have an accident or injury that results in permanent paralysis through damage to the spinal cord. There are now more than 40,000 people in the UK with a spinal cord injury (SCI), many of whom are wheelchair users.