George inspires charity to help others hit the surf

George enjoys taking to the waves at Croyde on a specially-adapted surfboard

A South West charity is thinking of ways it can make surfing accessible to more disabled people – after being inspired by a Devon teenager who was desperate to hit the surf.

Dozens of disabled people now take to the waves with volunteers at The Wave Project's adaptive surfing centre in North Devon.

The charity's work was inspired by teenager George Palmer, now 17, who wanted to join other youngsters he saw out surfing at Croyde.

Ian Bennett, the adaptive lead at the charity said: "We just really want the sea to be accessible to anybody. And if we can make that happen, then that's brilliant."

The Wave Project said it was now thinking of ways to improve the experience for adaptive surfing.

Ideas from its team of volunteers include putting visual markers on boards to help surfers position themselves, and adding more handles to boards.

Mr Bennett said The Wave Project did not offer adaptive surfing before they were contacted by George's mum Nicki to ask if they could help him.

"I told her, 'actually, we don't do that, we are a mental health charity but I'm happy to give it a go'."

A couple of days before they were due to go out, Mr Bennett asked about George's disabilities and discovered he had quadriplegic cerebral palsy, developmental delay, and epilepsy.

"At that point, I wondered really why I'd said yes", said Mr Bennett. "I probably didn't sleep for the next two nights.

Mr Bennett said George's first surf was a "medicore experience" but when he asked Surfing England for advice, he realised there was no one offering adaptive surfing.

George had always wanted to learn to surf

The same year he took on another client, who had been a surfer before becoming disabled later in life, and said demand grew with more than 150 adaptive surfers now enjoying the waves at Croyde each year.

The wave project also now has an army of volunteers and an arsenal of boards for adaptive surfers. Facilities at Croyde beach have also been developed to include a dedicated accessible changing place by the beach.

Among the surfers is George, who has become a regular at Croyde beach, surfing at least once a month even in winter.

Mr Bennett was the 2024 winner of the BBC South West Unsung Hero award for his work to develop adaptive surfing.