Bristol man raising money for friend after mountain bike accident

Will Taylor is now paralysed from the waist down after a mountain bike accident

A man is challenging himself to take on an ultramarathon after an accident left his friend paralysed from the waist down.

Will Taylor, 33, from Bristol, was severely injured after a mountain bike crash in 2022.

Ben Corcoran, also from Bristol, has set himself a target of raising £10,000 to pay for a rehabilitation room for his friend to use at home.

This July he will aim to complete the Race to the Stones 100K ultramarathon.

"With the support of others, I know we can make his rehabilitation room a reality - it would literally be life-changing for him in every sense of the word," said Mr Corcoran.

Major trauma

Mr Taylor suffered major trauma to his spinal cord in the accident in February 2022, which left him with a fractured and dislocated vertebra.

It took six hours of emergency surgery to reset his spine and relieve pressure - however his injuries were critical and left him paralysed from the chest down.

Since his accident, Mr Taylor's goal was to be able to sit upright at home.

In the last six months he has pushed himself to get back in the pool, on a specially adapted bike and has even started working part time.

However, he still struggles with levels of tone, spasms, stiffness, damaged neural pathways, muscle fatigue and weakness.

Ben Corcoran running the Keswick trail

Fundraising to date has helped Mr Taylor with physiotherapy and equipment costs that have been life-changing to his physical and mental recovery.

But now he needs to have physiotherapy almost every day for the rest of his life, which he has had to fund privately to support his progress.

Mr Corcoran hopes to build a rehabilitation room in Mr Taylor's garden.

Mr Corcoran, who works as a site manager for a local contractor, has achieved £3,000 in fundraising so far.

"Will and I are very much alike, we love our sports and live to be active. His accident was absolutely devastating," said Mr Corcoran.

"I'm so proud of the progress he has made and the positive mindset he has taken on to become as strong and fit as he can."