A FORMER soldier who was nearly paralysed in an accident has been chosen to create a sculpture of the father of the Paralympics.

Mark Jackson has been commissioned to create a life-size bronze statue of the father of the Paralympics, Sir Ludwig Guttmann.

The Wroughton-based sculptor used to serve in the army's elite Parachute Regiment before turning his hand to his second love, art.

Mark was approached following an article about him that appeared in the Daily Telegraph about an exhibition he took part in in London.

“I felt largely ignorant to begin with but after doing some reading I found out he was the most amazing man who achieved so much,” he said.

“It was an amazing project to be involved in.”

The 37-year-old had a near miss from spending life in a wheelchair after a parachuting accident left him with a fractured pelvis.

Art had always been a plan for Mark to try his hand at but the accident brought this ambition forward.

“I spent a fantastic nine years in the army and then I took the decision to leave and become an artist,” he said.

“The parachuting accident was very much a catalyst for taking it up early.

“After that I weighed up the pros and cons and thought it was time to leave and pursue my second love.”

Due to be unveiled in time for the London 2012 Paralympic Games, the life-size bronze will initially be sited at the Stoke Mandeville Stadium before being permanently installed outside the entrance to the Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire.

Mark’s injury, which happened while he was on holiday with a fellow soldier, has helped him to appreciate the challenges that face paralympians.

He said: “My injuries in the long run were not bad at all.

“At the time though I was quite broken and took a while to get back on my feet again.

“I had a very short experience of what actually people have to deal with their whole lives and how limiting it is.

“It is very frustrating, you have to get on and do things and there is no better example of how people with spinal injuries get on with life than the Paralympics, it’s absolutely incredible.”

The national Spinal Injuries Centre is still fundraising for the statue and to further enhance the lives of those people suffering with spinal injuries.

For more information about the centre visit www.poppa guttmanncelebration.org and to view Mark’s art visit www.jackoart.com.