A CHARD father of three left paralysed and housebound after a motorcycle crash has been given a new lease of life.

Sgt George Pas, 38, of Sixth Battalion the Rifles with the Territorial Army, was paralysed from the chest down in the crash in July 2011 and now relies on a wheelchair.

Despite the daily challenges he faces, he took on a number of fundraising challenges, including a skydive from 15,000ft, to help raise money for a life-changing piece of equipment.

His new TerrainHopper mobility aid, worth £16,000, arrives next month and George, who has been confined to his wheelchair for 2½ years, said he can not wait.

He told the News: “Since the crash I’ve not been able to go into the fields with my dogs and the kids, but this machine will allow me to do that again.

“It has been really frustrating not being able to do it because even with the best will in the world and however positive you try to be there are a lot of underlying problems, including the frustration and the constant pain.

“At least now I can take the kids to the beach and go on the sand with them, and I can go to Ham Hill or Castle Neroche.”

After the crash George was coma-induced at the side of the road and taken to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol for several weeks to rebuild his arms.

Formerly of The Crescent, Ilminster, he moved into a specialist bungalow in Chard two years ago to make his everyday life easier.

George has been in the TA for more than a decade, and has served in Afghanistan, the Ukraine, the USA and Cyprus, among other places.

He went through a rigorous training session at RAF Brize Norton to gear himself up for his next challenge, which involves an abseil.

George said any money raised from the abseil will go to other people in a similar situation through his own charity, if he is able to set it up in time, or to the charities which have helped him on his journey, including the Royal British Legion and the national armed forces charity SSAFA.

He said: “I wanted to give something back to the people who helped me because I don’t want it to be all take, take, take.”

A date for the abseil has yet to be fixed. Keep reading the News to follow George’s progress.