Fundraiser aims to help buy new electric-powered wheelchair for paralysed Windsor resident

A fundraiser is being held to help raise money for a new electric-powered wheelchair for a Windsor resident.

An auction and evening of entertainment is being held at La Cloche at The Carpenter's Arms in Upper Village Road, Sunningdale, on Sunday.

Tim Clare, a former Eton Excelsior Rowing Club vice-president, was paralysed following a car crash 30 years ago. The crash left the keen sportsman a tetraplegic.

He is unable to walk, has no sensation below his chest and has limited use of his arms.

Following the accident, Mr Clare spent 13 months in hospital and two years in a hostel for disabled people before returning to Windsor where he was born and raised.

The 53-year-old's current wheelchair is worn out and he is hoping to raise about £13,000 for a new one.

The chairs have a life-span of about five years and in the past Mr Clare has been left stranded in the middle of a main road due to a power chair breakdown.

Mr Clare, a former pupil of the Royal Free School, said he was 'humbled' by donations people have made to the auction.

These include a polo lesson with a top player, a blazer worn by former All Blacks captain Sean Fitzpatrick, a helicopter ride as well as a host of other pieces of sporting memorabilia.

Also on the bill is a talk by Geoff Holt, a paralysed sailor who sailed 1,445 miles solo around Great Britain and who has also sailed across the Atlantic, and comedian Bobby Davro.

The power chair gives Mr Clare independence and he is in it 15 hours a day, seven days a week.

“You can actually go and find some space on your own if you want to,” he said.

“When I used to have a manual chair, if I went anywhere I had to go with somebody else.”

The evening starts at 6pm. Tickets cost £75, including food, and all proceeds go towards the chair.

Donations for the auction are still being welcomed.

Email tim@cluckingchickens.co.uk

Visit the fundraiser's Facebook page for more information or to give money.