GOSFORD All Blacks rugby club have gone nationwide in an attempt to raise funds for Chris Sumner, who was paralysed by injuries he received in a match last January.

Sumner was playing on the wing for Gosford in an Oxfordshire Cup tie against Witney, when he suffered severe damage to the spine following an accidental collision.

After spending 13 weeks at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Sumner was transferred to Stoke Mandeville, where he has been ever since.

Now classified as a tetraplegic, he is paralysed from the neck down, although he has slight movement in his left arm down to the forearm, and some feeling in his right arm.

Already £5,000, including a contribution from the Oxfordshire RFU, has been raised locally, but with the prospect of him returning home in the early spring, more funds are needed urgently.

"The main cost will go towards an adaptable people-carrier that can carry a wheelchair," explained Chris's sister Alison Dunnill.

To that end, the Rugby Football Union have included a letter appealing for funds in their monthly magazine which is sent to all the clubs in the country. In the letter, Gosford secretary Chris Tipler says: "Chris will be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life with only limited use of his arms, so it's important that we raise as much as we can to make his situation financially less stressful."

"So far, we're quite encouraged by the response, which includes one donation from a rugby player in Hartlepool who suffered similar injuries.

"There's no target, we just want to raise as much as we can," added Tipler, who praised the part played by Oxfordshire's representative, Paul Murphy, in pressing the RFU to help out.

Tipler was upset that one firm actually wrote back to say that it wasn't company policy to donate money to individuals.

Cherwell District Council have approved plans for a ground floor extension at the family home in Exeter Road, Kidlington. This will be financed by a disabled facilities grant from the council. Meanwhile, the RFU are assisting Gosford in an ongoing insurance claim, which is awaiting a final prognosis from doctors at Stoke Mandeville.

Those wishing to contribute can send cheques (made payable to Gosford All Blacks CS Fund) to Chris Tipler at 88 Maple Avenue, Kidlington, Oxford, 0X5 1HW.

Story date: Wednesday 22 December

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.