A TETRAPLEGIC victim of spinal injury who inspired the children at Mount House School when he gave a talk there last February has returned to the school to receive a cheque for more than £2,000 for Spinal Research.

The money was raised through a ten-mile sponsored walk on Dartmoor, in which children, parents, teachers and friends took part.

Born in Kenya and brought up in the UK, Colin Javens suffered a terrible accident as a 20-year-old. The accident shattered three vertebrae and left him virtually paralysed from the shoulders down. Refusing to be defeated, Colin fought back and eventually realised his dream of driving the 22,000 kilometres from the Mediterranean coast of Africa to Cape Town at the continent's southernmost tip.

The plight of spinal injury victims in Kenya, where there is so little specialised help available, inspired Colin to launch the fund-raising branch of Spinal Research, a UK-registered charity that raises awareness of spinal injury, and funds to enable scientists to pursue research.

Mount House headmaster's wife Jo Massey, who organised the event, said: 'After hearing Colin tell his story with such humility and humour, when it came to selecting a charity to benefit from this year's sponsored walk, the choice was a relatively easy one.'

On his return to school Colin re-told his story to many children who had been unable to attend on his first visit, before distributing tee-shirts and other souvenirs.

Colin expressed his gratitude to all who took part in the walk and raised £2063.85, which makes Mount House the top fund-raising school for Spinal Research.