A FATHER-OF-THREE who thought he was "written off" after crashing his lorry into a wall 13 years ago is to launch his own business.

Former articulated lorry driver John Brierley, of Britten Street, Darwen, suffered leg, chest and head injuries in June 1993 when his trailer flipped over as he went round a bend in Lower Darwen.

He then had to undergo an 11-hour spinal operation in 1999 after a specialist surgeon revealed he had a shattered bone in the base of his spine.

He was told he would never be able to do manual work or his job as a long-distance lorry driver again and he thought his working life was over.

But now John, 42, will launch his motorbike dismantlers business, MCA Motorcycle and Breakers, in Whitehall Mill, in Whitehall Street, with the help of his wife Joanne.

Mick Donnelly at Action for Jobs, an agency which helps people into work, Josie Webber at Jobcentre Plus and Vicky Watts of Remploy, which helps disabled people.

He said: "I was informed by the surgeon that my driving career was over. Even though I had spinal surgery I am still very limited as to what I can do.

"I continued working as a lorry driver in severe pain at first but it was so bad I had to give up work. I felt I was a write-off. The disc in my back had been worn away and was a cigarette paper thickness away from me ending up in a wheelchair.

"I have been out of work since the operation in 1999 but I have managed to get some funding and help to set up my own business.

"Without them I don't think I could have done it. I have been into motorcycles all my life and just decided to buy and sell bikes and break them down for parts. Now all I need for my work is a screwdriver and a spanner."

The business will be launched on April 6 and the name MCA is in honour of his three daughters Melissa, 13, Chloe, 11, and Amy seven.

John was working for A A Griggs, in Hollins Mill, Darwen, when he had his accident.