WHEELCHAIR user Mark Fox is looking for someone to make use of a specialised marathon wheelchair he was given seven years ago.

Mr Fox, 42, of Broad Hinton, was paralysed from the waist down after a moto-cross accident at Biddestone in June 1987.

Mr Fox was thrown from his motorbike, which then landed on top of him, breaking his back in two places.

But he maintained his interest in sport and started competing in wheelchair marathons with an aim to completing the London marathon.

He received the specially adapted three-wheel chair after his best mate Andy Hobbs, who was riding behind him in the ill-fated race in which he was paralysed, gave him £2,000 to purchase it.

Mr Fox has since gone on to complete the London marathon four times as well as several others across the country.

During his marathon years he has raised thousands of pounds for charity as well as meeting 11-time Paralympic gold medal winner Tanni Grey Thompson.

Mr Fox said: "I did my last London marathon in 2002 and since then the wheelchair has just been sitting in my garage for a couple of years and I just thought that it's going to waste.

"I'm getting a bit old for the marathons now, it's a young man's thing, and there's a lot of young disabled people who could start with that."

The 14-inch wide wheelchair was specially made in America and is suitable for anyone who weighs ten-and-a-half stone or less.

Mr Fox said: "I've also got all the gloves and things like that which I'd be happy to pass on."

Mr Fox, who is currently unemployed but helps with Mr Hobbs' business, said: "I didn't think I'd ever be able to do it but, if I can do it, then other people definitely can.

"I think people will be quite surprised at what they can do and you only have to look at Tanni Grey for inspiration."

Mr Fox, who also has an indoor training unit in his garage that his dad helped him to build, said: "In the hands of the right person there's no saying what could be achieved.

"You don't know until you try something and, if I can pass on any advice on the training, then I'm happy to do that. That will give them a good head start on what I had, because I had no knowledge at all when I started.

Andy Hobbs, who runs Swindon removal firm The Man With A Van, said: "Foxy has got a lot of friends who have stuck with him over a number of years. He's the sort of bloke who would still get on a trolley and go under a vehicle and work on somebody's exhaust.

"I gave this wheelchair to Foxy but I probably won't know the next person who has it.

"Basically they'll be using my wheelchair. If they want to use it for ten years or two years, that's great, and when they've finished with it then it comes back to me."

Anyone who is interested in using the wheelchair can call Mr Fox on 07900 402349.