Gwent golfer Dylan Baines overcomes horror van crash to gain first win

At the age of 22, Dylan Baines' life changed forever. He was a keen sportsman, who enjoyed skiing, playing football and golf, but in 2017, he was hospitalised after being in the back of a van when it crashed. Nobody else was hurt but Dylan was paralysed from the neck down. “The first three weeks, I can't remember anything to be honest,” he told ITV Wales. “I was on all sorts of painkillers and whatever, just coming around from the operation. I remember towards the end of being in the Heath, I think it just hit me then, how bad I was. “I remember breaking down and it was as if my world was ending to be honest.”

After months in hospital, Dylan regained use of his right side but his left hand and foot remain in a state of paralysis. As he came to terms with the reality of his injury, Dylan was inspired by a poster he'd seen in a clinic and turned to the sport of golf. In order to play the sport, Dylan attaches himself to the club with a training aid that attaches to a traditional glove.

'A reason to get up every day' Last month, he claimed his first win on the European Disability Golf Association Tour in Portugal and the sport, Dylan says, saved his life. “It's given me a drive and a reason to get up every day and it's a way of bettering myself,” he explained. “There is no doubt in my mind that it's played a big part in saving my life. I don't know where I would be now, if I'm honest with you, physically and mentally. Because it's done wonders for my physical health as well, it gets me out and moving. “On Saturdays and Sundays, I can either play with my dad or my mates quite often, so it's a way of seeing them. “Whereas I went the first two years after my accident and I didn't see a lot of people, I didn't want to for a lot of the time because of my mental health, it was just a struggle.”

Golf has given Dylan something to focus on. Lying in a hospital bed five years ago, he didn't know what the future might hold. But after his maiden win in the Algarve, he now has his sights set on even more victories next year. He hopes that his story can serve as an inspiration to others. “I think I was expecting it to get better overnight but it just doesn't. You're allowed to feel low, to feel sad, angry and upset with the world. “Try not to take it out on those closest to you - I know I've made that mistake a little bit over the last couple of years! “But you are allowed to feel that way and just trust that, in time, it does get better.” Dylan knows things will never be the same as they were before the accident. He faces challenges most of us would struggle to comprehend on a daily basis. But sport has given him a reason to look to the future, instead of the past.