Great characters are a real inspiration

He may not be able to speak without digital aids, but when Lee Ridley, aka Lost Voice Guy, won Britain’s Got Talent at the weekend it left many disabled rights campaigners shouting with joy.

Reliant on a computerised voice after cerebral palsy robbed him of speech from the age of just six months, the self-deprecating comedian has refused to give in to his disability.

Winning the nation’s biggest TV talent show has thrust him into the national spotlight (though it is worth pointing out he was already a successful comedy writer having penned a popular radio sitcom prior to his appearance on the small screen) and there is little doubt he has done much to modernise the ways in which society in general views those with disabilities.

Another who falls into that inspirational category is Fifer Iain Donaldson-elder.

Wheelchair-bound following a diagnosis of MS, he has struggled to adapt to a life bereft of the kind of independence most of us take for granted.

However, just like Mr Ridley, he refuses to be defined by his condition and is – quite literally – reaching for the skies to raise awareness of the debilitating condition.

It takes a brave able-bodied soul to strap oneself into a microlight for a white knuckle-ride and Mr Donaldsonelder deserves great credit for his charity efforts.

As he rather succinctly states: “There are no limits”.