SEVEN years ago, Ian Maskell was enjoying a cycle ride on the south downs when his life was changed forever.

The 58 year-old father from Burgess Hill was left paralysed from the chest down after falling off his bike in a freak accident near Chanctonbury Ring.

He said: “I was riding off-road, which is ironic given the dangers to cyclists on busy roads.

“I wasn’t even going that fast, but I came off the bike awkwardly and that was it.”

Ian had to be air-lifted by an ambulance to the Royal Sussex County Hospital, and was later transferred to a specialist spinal unit in Stanmore, London, where he spent five and a half months in rehab.

He said: “The first few months you spend in bed, before they start building up your strength again.

“There’s so much to cope with when you first get home after a spinal injury.

“You’ve got to get the house sorted so it’s all accessible. Getting used to life in a wheelchair is a huge transition.”

The accident was especially devastating for Ian as he has always loved the outdoors and doing activities like cycling, skiing and mountaineering.

He said: “When I was in Stanmore there was this poster on the wall of someone wheeling off in their chair in the beautiful countryside.

“It gave me hope that when I got through the rehab I would still be able to get out into the great outdoors.”

The poster on the wall was for the charity Back Up, which supports people who have suffered spinal injuries to make the most of their lives and rebuild their independence.

Ian, who has managed to restart his career as an architect designing medical buildings and doctors’ surgeries, said: “They’re a great charity as they literally get you back up.

“Quite early on I was looking at ways of getting the chair off the tarmac and back onto paths.

“As time has gone on I’ve got more adventurous, like I used to be with the mountain bike on the off-road paths.

“So that’s what this mountain trike is all about.”

Ian is raising money to buy a custom-made mountain trike, which will allow him to access the hills and mountains like he used to.

He has almost met his target of £5,000 with an online crowdfunding campaign, and hopes he can buy the trike next month so he can start training to climb Mount Snowdon in July with Back Up in their Snowdon Push fundraising event.

Ian said: “I’ve been getting on with other areas of my life but I felt it was the right time to do another challenge.

“I did the London to Brighton ride in 2017 and rode 100 miles in my wheelchair and pushed all along the bank of the Thames.

“It was a great day but the route was completely flat.

“So the difference now is that I’m going back into the mountains.”

Ian first went up Mount Snowdon with his family when he was 11 years old, and said he has loved getting up into the mountain air ever since.

He and his friends have gone mountaineering every year and Ian has only missed one trip, despite his accident.

He said: “The year that I was in rehab they called me on Facetime so we could still have dinner together.

“When I’ve been away with them I have hired a trike, so I’ve had a taste of it. The mountain trike is expensive but I’ll have it for ever and it will allow me to build up my arm muscles.”

Ian said the Snowdon Push fundraiser for Back Up will be a positive step in his life.

He said: “Going up the mountain is going to be great but it’s also going to be a recognition of how different things are for me now.

“Certain things just become normal and I don’t think about them.

“I like being independent but I also like being part of a team.”

Ian is hoping his two brothers and his parents will be able to join him up the mountain, so the family can recreate the photos they took on their first trip there.

He added: “I’m excited to be getting back out and away from the roads. It will be great to be in the fresh air doing what I love doing.”

To make a donation for Ian’s mountain trike, go to justgiving.com/fundraising/all-terrain-wheelchair-for-ian.