Paralysed rugby star Matt Hampson plans to build new rehab centre
A paralysed former rugby player plans to build a state-of-the-art rehabilitation centre to help others injured through sport.
Former Leicester Tigers and England Under-21 rugby star Matt Hampson is seeking planning permission to build the Get Busy Living Centre at an old aircraft hanger site in Burrough-on-the-Hill, near Melton Mowbray.
Matt, who lives in Cold Overton, set up the Matt Hampson Foundation to help injured young people after being paralysed from the neck down while training with the England Under-21s nearly 10 years ago.
The new centre has been a dream of his for some time, but with funding coming in and plans drawn up, it is edging closer to a reality.
Matt said: “It’s for our beneficiaries to come to with their families and share experiences. They can also benefit from different therapies, and meet and talk to other people. That’s the most important thing the foundation can offer.
“You don’t really know what an individual is going through until you have been through it yourself.”
One of the people the foundation has been helping, and who would benefit from the new centre, is 10-year-old Seb Goold. Seb, from Wansford, had to have his right leg amputated above the knee after falling from a moving coach. The Matt Hampson Foundation is helping him, through the Seb Goold Trust, to once again play the many sports he loved before his accident.
There have already been plenty of donations and offers of support for the centre, and both the BGL Sport Bash on July 23 and 24 in Stamford and the Rutland Marathon at Rutland Water on September 27 are supporting the foundation.
If you would like to help visit matthampsonfoundation.org.
○ Matt is looking for new people to join his care team. You need to be flexible and able to support Matt day-to-day. Call Dean on 07739 931988 for details.