'˜You've got to make things happen yourself'

When David Williamson was born with no shin bones, his parents had to make a very difficult decision.

Metal pins and endless operations with no guarantee of success, or amputation of both legs.

They chose the latter because they believed it would be better for David.

Now he looks back on a lifetime love of playing sport and wants to inspire others to believe they too can live their dreams.

As the country is gripped by inspirational performances at the Paralympics in Rio, David believes it’s the perfect time to remind everybody that they can achieve if they work hard and believe in themselves.

He ended up captaining Portsmouth Sitting Volleyball Club for eight years and was even invited to train with the GB squad before the Paralympics in London in 2012.

The 37-year-old, of Shadwell Road in North End, Portsmouth, had his legs amputated when he was less than a year old.

He says: ‘My folks had to be realistic. They could have tried to put metal pins in to replace the bones.

‘But with technology at the time, I would have been in and out of hospital all the time having them changed.

‘It wouldn’t have been a childhood at all. And it might not have worked – the chances of me walking on them were very unlikely.’

Fitted with artificial legs, he went on to play football and golf.

But there were problems to contend with.

He recalls: ‘Pretty much every week my mum would get a phone call saying that I had broken my legs again.

‘My artificial legs were old-fashioned and heavy and painful to wear. But my mum would encourage me to wear them as much as possible.

‘There were a number of children who used to go to the Limb Centre at St Mary’s Hospital.

‘There were children there who were crying because their legs hurt and their parents let them take them off.

‘But the more you got used to them, the more you could do, which is why I could play football and golf and go horse-riding.’

David’s parents had difficulty finding a school for him.

He recalls: ‘My mum and dad were put under a lot of pressure to put me in a special school at the time, just because it was easier.

‘So my mum sat me down and taught me to read and write when I was little.

She really pushed me. At the age of six, I had already read The Hobbit.

‘She felt that she had to prove I was more advanced to be given the same opportunities as everyone else. That stuck with me.

‘She shipped me round all the schools in the area and none of them would take me.

‘They were worried if I fell or hurt myself they wouldn’t be able to cope with it.’

Eventually, David and his mum ended up at Ranvilles School in Fareham.

David explains: ‘The headteacher said to my mum: “What happens if David falls over?”.

‘My mum said: “He will probably whinge for a bit, but if you leave him alone he will get up eventually”.

‘It was just about not pandering to the disability. It was about accepting it.