Disabled parachute jumper defies his disability (From Enfield Independent)

Disabled parachute jumper defies his disability

7:30am Tuesday 9th June 2009 in News By Hannah Crown

A MAN who was left unable to walk after a car accident has raised £3,000 by jumping out of a plane.

Paul Thurgood, 44, overcame his mobility problems for a few minutes in grand style with a tandem leap 13,000 ft from the ground.

Mr Thurgood was 28 when his Mini collided with a bus in The Ridgeway, Enfield, in 1992, leaving him unable to walk and with a speech impediment, double vision and balance problems.

He said: “The jump went really well. Of the seven of us who did the jump, six of us would happily do it again. One was scared stiff - but she is scared of flying and heights. I suppose it is just my persuasive personality that got her there at all.”

The group took off from Chatteris Airfield near March, in Cambridgeshire.

Mr Thurgood's wife and carer, Jane, 41, said: “He doesn’t sit there and say 'I was a fully active young man and now I am struggling'. He is quite an inspiration really when you see what he does every day – he has inspired six people to jump out of a plane as well. It really is a testament to Paul.”

The money raised from the jump, on May 22, will go to the Helicopter Emergency Medical Serivce, which helped save his life following the crash, and Penniwells Riding for the Disabled Centre, in Elstree, a disabled riding club that he represented in the regional RDA Championships last month.