Paralympian's project nominated for award

Mickey Bushell said he had always wanted to work with other wheelchair users

A project run by Paralympic gold medalist Mickey Bushell that helps wheelchair users has been nominated for an award.

It caters for people in Shropshire who want to improve their abilities, as well as elite athletes, with courses at its base in Telford.

Mickey Bushell Gold Standard Academy is one of the nominees for a community honour at BBC Radio Shropshire's Make a Difference awards.

Hundreds of people and projects have been nominated across the county for the positive impact they have made.

Mr Bushell said the academy was established following an idea from his business partner, who ran a gym.

The gold medalist said although there were group sessions, "we actually tailor it to each disability as well".

He added: "For example, if they couldn't do a wheelie before, by the end of the course they should be able to.

"If they need to carry things, pots, pans, plates, whatever it might be, we teach all those kind of skills. We teach how to get across grass, gravel, anything that you might come across in life."

Stuart Mills said he was "not scared any more"

One of the academy's users, Stuart Mills, said he was no longer afraid of being in his wheelchair.

The Birmingham resident said: "My big fear was, and still is to a degree, falling out of my chair.

He said one of the first things he was taught at the academy was how to get back in his chair.

"I've been in my chair for 11 and a half years before coming and I basically meandered through."

Asked about things she was able to do since training at the academy, Melissa Ellis, from Telford, said: "Going to the gym, pushing myself around the town centre [and] transferring on and off different surfaces."

She said: "I didn't realise before how much I relied on other people until I came here and learnt new skills."

The awards event will take place at The Anstice in Madeley on 20 September.