Double Paralympic gold medallist Jaco van Gass inspires Jersey children to 'dream big'

ITV Channel's Phil Wellbrook went along to Trinity School...

A double Paralympic gold medallist has visited Jersey to inspire young children to never give up.

Jaco Van Gass is a former soldier from South Africa, who lost his arm below the elbow during a tour of Afghanistan 14 years ago.

The triple World Champion and three times a World Record holder now hopes to help the next generation achieve their dreams.

He said: "We need to dream big and not be afraid of that. There are going to be hard times and good times, but they should never give up on whatever that is."

Children at Trinity School in Jersey had the chance to ask Jaco questions about his journey to Paralympic success.

One pupil said: "I loved his story and I find it really inspiring, I just love how he says follow your dreams, it's really important."

Another said: "Even though he had such a big setback in his life he still kept going."

Teacher Sally Sleath said the children were given a real life example of how they can overcome a setback.

She said: "His quote of how life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react works really well in school and we'll be talking about that a lot."

Jaco van Gass is the guest speaker at this year's Betway Channel Islands Sports Awards.