Paraplegic amputee takes wheelchair scuba diving to break down barriers in sport
A man who has become known as a wheelchair adventurer has become the first paraplegic amputee to gain a top-level diving qualification in the UK.
Shaun Gash from Lancaster was paralysed from the waist down after a car accident in 1991.
Since then he has set himself a number of gruelling physical challenges - including climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, and parachuting out of a plane.
One of Mr Gash's legs had to be amputated after a climbing accident on Ben Nevis in 2018, but the mobility advisor was determined to carry on pushing himself to try new sports.
Now, Mr Gash has gained his SSI scuba diving qualification with the help of Morecambe Area Divers in Lancashire.
Shaun has now brought his wheelchair scuba diving to show other disabled people that they don't have to rule themselves out of trying new sports.
He wants to demonstrate how advances in technology should mean that adaptations in extreme sports are possible, whatever your needs.
The increased sophistication of wheelchair technology means Shaun can get himself in and out of the water, keeping his independence as he masters the sport.