Paralysed Corby dad joins son on Great North Run for Spinal Research charity despite fall from cliffs

Tim Wardley broke his back in the climbing accident in 2007 – although the extent of his spinal injury was not revealed until two years later when his ‘legs just basically gave way’.

On Sunday (September 7), Tim and son Brandon-Lee will line-up on the start line of the Great North Run to take on the Newcastle to South Shields course.

Tim said: “I have family in the Northeast and was solo climbing sea cliffs when I fell 80-100ft onto a shingle beach. I was buried up to my knees and felt all the pain of the impact in my legs but, what I didn’t realise was I had also concertinaed my spine.”

At first he thought he had got away with just a badly broken ankle and carried on his life as a warehouse operative and extreme sportsman.

But a scan for suspected sciatica revealed he had broken his back in the fall, and subsequent damage to discs compressed Tim’s spinal cord leaving him paralysed from the waist down.

A lover of high adrenaline sports including motorbiking, free climbing and snowboarding, Tim found it tricky to adjust.

He said: “It was really difficult coming to terms with and I was basically a recluse for five years.

“Anything that got my adrenaline going created focus for me so suddenly not being able to do anything, I was really lost. But my now wife Michelle and son Brandon-Lee pulled me through, and I started to realise that you can build a good life with a spinal cord injury.”

Tim first took on the Great North Run in 2018, completing it in his wheelchair in two hours and 42 minutes, even though he dislocated his shoulder after two miles.

This time he will be joined on the start line by Brandon-Lee, who works as a mechanic, and three others.

Running alongside them will also be Tim’s cousin Jennie O’Boyle from Essex and friends Sarah Kempson and Christopher Webb from Market Harborough.

Tim added: “I’ve been training on several local route circuits nearby and I’m looking forward to taking on this challenge again with my son, family and friends.”

They are all raising money for Spinal Research, the leading UK charity funding and supporting the best research to develop life-changing new treatments and therapies to repair the spinal cord.

Every two hours someone in the UK is paralysed after a spinal cord injury – it can happen to anyone at any time with devastating consequences for them and their loved ones.

Suzanne Redding, head of audience and community for Spinal Research, said: “A spinal cord injury changes the lives of the person injured, but also their family and friends.

“We’re so grateful to Tim and his team for taking on the Great North Run to raise vital funds and awareness. Every single donation brings our vision of curing paralysis a step closer.”

To support Tim and his team, go to his fundraising page https://www.justgiving.com/page/tim-wardley-1734430137774.