An Accrington wheelchair football charity is going to great heights to buy a new electric wheelchair for their ‘football obsessed’ player.

Lancashire Spitfires Powerchair FC is fundraising to buy a new powerchair – a type of electric wheelchair – for one of its members.

The team wants to buy a Strikeforce chair for player Dominic Thorpe who has cerebral palsy.

The Strikeforce is a modern powerchair designed specifically for powerchair football - it is faster and more comfortable than an ordinary powerchair and has angular bumpers for effective ball control.

Alan Moore, Dominic’s support worker, said: “He’s obsessed with football and wheelchair football has brought a lot out of him.

“He’s never been able to do anything like this before. Being able to do it in his own bespoke chair would be amazing.

“If you ever go and watch it, it’s just incredible. They get so much joy out of doing it, it’s great.

“He gets so much out of it and all the guys get so much out of it.”

Alan completed a skydive on September 29 to raise money so Dominic, who has been playing powerchair football for 18 months, can buy the modern powerchair to play in.

Alan said: “It was fantastic, absolutely amazing. I’ve never done anything like it.”

Some members of the team already have a Strikeforce chair, but Dominic is too old to qualify for the bursary to buy the chair.

So far, the club has raised around £1,000 but needs £5,000 to buy the Strikeforce chair.

Alan said: “We’re nowhere near, unfortunately.

“We want to get as much as we can for Dominic for his chair.”

Dominic was ‘really impressed’ by Alan’s 15,000ft stunt, but with the team due to start competing in the developmental league in Liverpool this month, they are now thinking up new ways to raise money.

Dominic said: “I’m thinking of the next crazy escapade. Who knows? It’s got to be something out there.”

The club’s GoFundMe is available at gofundme.com/f/sponsored-skydive-to-fundraise-for-new-modern-powerchairs.