Amputee base jumper sets sights on marathon effort

Charlie Price is the first amputee to carry out a tandem base jump

A man from Somerset who became the first amputee to take part in a tandem base jump has said he just wants to help people.

Charlie Price from Yeovil lost his leg following a mountain biking accident when he was 24, and has since vowed to carry out a new challenge every year in an effort to break barriers around his disability.

Mr Price, 29, will run the London Marathon later this month and will be raising money for a child who became a quad-amputee at the age of seven.

Charlie said he does the challenges to stop getting bored

In 2019, Mr Price was planning a biking trip, but told BBC Radio Somerset there was "signs" in the build up to the accident that suggested he should not have been there.

"My mate's bike broke, one of my mate's cars broke - I've never believed in signs but there were signs that day.

"Then we all decided to come home and still go riding.

"We looked at the trail and thought 'let's do it' and I was the first one down.

"My foot just got caught and there was no way out so I threw the bike and I hit a tree."

He broke bones in his both his feet and ankles, and explained while doctors tried everything they could in the years since the accident, he asked them to amputate one of his legs in an effort to get a better quality of life.

Charlie Price asked for his leg to be amputated

Despite taking part in base jumps since the amputation, Mr Price told BBC Radio Somerset his marathon training had been "difficult".

"I've been struggling with my prosthetics at the moment but I'm trying.

"Luckily I've got a friend helping me as well as a support runner so even if I struggle I've got him to pull me along", he explained.

"I'm nervous. Very, very nervous. I definitely overestimated myself but I'll crawl to the finish line if I have to. "

'I get bored'

Mr Price will be running for Thisisluke, a charity which supports a quadriplegic child, who lost his limbs after contracting meningococcal meningitis when he was seven-years-old.

"Since the amputation, my outlook on life has changed completely and I just thought if I can help anybody, I'll be happy... I just want to try and help people.

Not content with running 26.2 miles through London, Mr Price will also attempt to climb the Three Peaks in June.

"I get bored," he explained, adding: "We're not here for a long time... so I don't want to be just sat at home doing nothing all the time.

"The good days outweigh the bad days."