A MAN told he would never walk again after being paralysed from the neck down in a motocross accident has astounded medics by getting back on his motorbike.

After breaking his back, Anton Shepherd, 24, refused to give up and instead astounded his family and friends with his positive attitude.

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Now thanks to special adaptions to his bike he is back motocross riding on a regular basis.

Anton, of Selous Road, Witton, Blackburn, spent three months in hospital after a freak accident shattered three vertebrae and fractured another.

He was told he would be paralysed from the neck down, although he would still be able to use his arms, and there was no chance he could continue with the sport he loved.

He said: “I had been into the sport for about eight years. People used to say all I did was work and ride my Honda CRF 450.

“Seven of us had gone to the track, FatCat Moto-Parc, near Doncaster, with our bikes.

“I rode over a jump and must have hit a bump because my bike went sideways and I fell off in the air.

“My bike landed on my back and I passed out.”

Within minutes Anton, who is a former student at St Bede’s High School, was airlifted to the Princess Royal Spinal Unit in Sheffield.

Anton said: “As soon as they told me about my legs my first thought was that it could have been a lot worse.

“I still had my arms and I wasn’t brain-damaged. From the first minute they told me I decided to be positive.

“A day or two later one of the nurses closed the curtains around me, looked me in the eye and asked if I realised what had happened to me.

“She couldn’t believe I was so calm about it.

“But there were others on the ward in far worse shape than me.

“I can honestly say I’ve not had one moment of depression or doubt since it happened.

“I’ve just concentrated on living my life like I did before.”

After three months in Sheffield, Anton returned home to Blackburn, where he lives with his devoted family, mum and dad Julie and Mark and sister Keira, 14.

He said: “Even before I got home I’d decided I wanted to ride my bike again.

“All the advice was that I shouldn’t but I just told them I wasn’t going to change my life just because I couldn’t walk.

“My friends were supportive and even my mum, who was worried about it, knew that she wouldn’t change my mind.

“We adapted the bike with a cage around my legs but most of the Motocross tracks would not let me ride.

“But Southport Leisure Lakes treated me like a normal person. I had to sign a waiver and they let me ride.

“I felt so alive when I got back on the bike. I knew I could do it.

“I go regularly now.

“Nobody treats me any different and I wouldn’t expect them too.”

Anton has also adapted his VW Sirocco car so he can drive with hand controls.

He also loves to take the family dog Daisy out for walks and trains several times a week at the ABC Gym on Livesey Branch Road.

He has no input in his life from the NHS or charities.

“My mum, dad and sister have been unbelievable and physiotherapist, Ray Parker, helps keep my legs in shape with massages.

“I’ve been able to get a little lateral movement into them which helps me turn over in bed.”

Now Anton has set himself another mammoth challenge, pushing himself in his sports wheelchair 29 miles from Blackburn to Southport on October 25, in aid of the help the Air Ambulance service, which flew him to hospital after the accident.

Anton’s dad, Mark, 39, said he was incredibly proud of his son, adding that Anton was “made of different stuff”.

He said: “We’re all amazed by him and what he’s achieved.

“I’m certain most of us would not have had the determination and attitude after such a life-changing accident.

“It’s hard to watch him struggle but Anton is fiercely independent.”

To sponsor Anton go to the website at justgiving.com/An ton-Shepherd/