Brave MND sufferer aims to set world speed record in a wheelchair

HE MAY be virtually paralysed, but motor neurone disease (MND) sufferer Jason Liversidge is still coming up with “harebrained schemes which usually become a reality,” says wife Liz.

Mr Liversidge, 42, who was diagnosed with MND nearly five years ago, has undertaken a number of daring challenges including abseiling off the Humber Bridge and climbing Mount Snowdon.

The adrenaline junkie has now come up with his most daring yet – to set a Guinness World Record for the fastest distance over a mile in an electric wheelchair. It will mean having to go over 55mph.

But Mrs Liversidge, from Rise, East Yorkshire, said her husband was “hoping to smash it”.

She added: “He is hoping to go more than 100mph – he is absolutely crazy.

“I’ve gone along with everything he has done so far but I will certainly be leaving this one up to Jason. There is no way I will be travelling anywhere near 100mph in a wheelchair.”

Specialist electrical vehicle firm Worcestershire-based Indra has started design work, but Mrs Liversidge is appealing for business sponsorship for £10,000 to pay for the components. She said: “In return we will be putting logos on Jason’s helmet – and probably on the parachute we are going to use to slow it down.”

Mr Liversidge has enough function in his hand to operate his current wheelchair with a joystick, and a similar device will be used on his bespoke vehicle.

Mrs Liversidge said a world record would be a legacy for their two daughters, Lilly, six, and Poppy, seven. “It will be something they can remember him for,” she said. Anyone who can help is asked to email jason@cossie.biz.