TWO years ago builder Mark Beesley found himself facing life in a wheelchair after a motorbike accident left him paralysed from the chest down, but little did he know at the time his disability would open up new horizons and a successful line of business.

Mark broke his back in three places, punctured his lungs and bruised his heart. His organs were working so hard to keep going that four days after the accident he actually 'died', but staff at Southport and Formby Spinal injuries unit managed to resuscitate him and he was placed on a ventilator for a week.

After seven months in hospital Mark was determined to make something of his life, which he says he owes to his sons Mark (eight) and Ryan (three), his girlfriend, Paula and best mate and Dad, Graham.

Mark explains: "If it hadn't been for them I don't think I would have had the will or determination to pull through, they kept me going."

Now two years on, Mark, who celebrates his 30th birthday today (Thursday, August 10) is the successful owner of what is probably one of the country's cheapest outlets for brand name wheelchairs and spare parts.

And his business, believe it or not, is all thanks to a freak accident which he had in his wheelchair not long after he came out of Southport and Formby Spinal Injuries Unit.

Mark, who was paralysed after the motorbike accident on Gartons Lane, Sutton Leach in June 1998, explains: "I went to a local nightclub in my wheelchair and when I got in the club's lift, the pressure in the lift meant that it gripped the wheels and completely shredded and buckled them. The owner of the club bought new wheels for me, but they cost him an absolute fortune. "As a result, I started to look round and discovered some of the high prices that the disabled were being charged wheelchairs and parts throughout the country. After a bit of research, I found a number of companies across the world which supplied the same brands cheaper. So I decided that I was going to go into business myself. Being disabled, I understand the needs of disabled people and I'm not going to rip them off.

"I'm lucky to be alive and I know it, now I want to do all I can to help the make the lives of other disabled people easier, there's nothing worse than paying over the odds for what for some people is a vital piece of equipment, or even a lifeline which gives them the ability to get out and do things."

Former Rainford High School pupil Mark, who lives in Folds Road, Haydock, is now the owner of MB's Discount Wheelchairs and Supplies in Westbank, Widnes (0151 257 8777), which supplies all the well known makes of wheelchairs, as well as various parts, at discount prices.