A paraplegic whose injuries were caused by a paragliding accident has won a scholarship to learn how to fly aeroplanes.

Paul Holzherr, 43, from Peacehaven, was taking part in an international tournament in Kangra, India, in November 2004 when he crashed in a forest and damaged three of his vertebrae, leaving him wheelchair-bound.

But Paul will be flying high again this summer when he undertakes a 40-hour flight training course at the 43rd School Of Flying in Port Alfred, South Africa.

Mr Holzherr was awarded the scholarship through charity Flying Scholarships For The Disabled (FSD) after a three-day selection process at RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire last week.

He said: "This is a fantastic opportunity. The sensation of flying is a fantastic thing and I miss it a lot. That's the reason I'm doing it. It will give me the opportunity to get in the air again.

"Flying is quite an important part of my life. It's pure and simple excitement. Being in a wheelchair is quite a difficult thing to come to terms with but doing exciting things like this helps me to overcome that. It's a very elating feeling to be in the air."

Mr Holzherr will fly out to South Africa with three others in June for the six-week residential course.

He will learn to fly on a specially-adapted Piper light aircraft, with a hand-lever replacing two foot pedals to turn the plane left and right.

Mr Holzherr had been paragliding for two years and had gone to India to take part in a preliminary meeting for the Paragliding World Cup when his accident happened.

Since then he has paraglided just once while visiting the Lake District. This was using a tow-launch mechanism where the glider is towed up on a cable and then released into the air.

He also flew a light aircraft at Goodwood airfield and hopes to fly there again once he has completed the course.

The FSD aims to help disabled people regain confidence and self-esteem.

Some even gain a private pilot's licence following the flight-training programme.

Sponsored by charitable trusts, public donations and fund-raising, the charity received support in the past from the late King Hussein of Jordan as patron, a role which his widow Queen Noor now fulfils.

FSD was launched in 1983 through the Royal International Air Tattoo as a memorial to the spirit of Sir Douglas Bader.

Despite losing both his legs in an air accident in 1931, he went on to achieve fame as an RAF fighter pilot during the Second World War before pursuing a successful civilian career in aviation.