Fundraising appeal to get young Bognor amputee to the Australian Tae Kwon-Do Championships
Carter Carrington, who had his left foot and ankle amputated when he was a baby, has been invited to represent Great Britain at the Australian Tae Kwon-Do Championships in Brisbane next summer.
His father Marlon said: “He’s over the moon about it, he really wants it to happen.”
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Hide AdTo raise the funds in order to make the dream trip a reality, Marlon has launched an online fundraising page.
He wrote: “Unfortunately no government funding is available for this but I don’t want him to miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime.
“Therefore, I am working as hard as I can to save enough money to take him but if a few people could spare as little as £1 each it will help to get us there and would be so greatly appreciated.”
The page has already amassed more than £1,200 in donations. “It’s just crazy,” Marlon said.
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Hide AdCarter was born with a condition called fibular hemimelia which meant he was missing the fibular bone in his left leg. As a result, doctors made the decision to amputate his foot at the age of 11 months.
When he was four-and-a-half years old, Carter, who wears a prosthetic leg, began taking Tae Kwon-Do lessons.
Marlon said: “Because he is an amputee, I wanted him to do it so he could protect himself against bullies.
“I was thinking ahead, I know how ruthless kids can be.
“I told him it was superhero training.
“He loves it, he really enjoys it. It’s just been fun for him.”
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Hide AdSince starting the sport, the Rose Green Junior pupil has passed eight belt gradings and won gold medals at the regional, national and international Matt Fiddes Tae Kwon-Do Championships.
Marlon is hoping to be able to fly him out to Australia for around ten days in total.
Carter, a passionate Aston Villa fan, has hit the headlines before when, in September 2016, he was chosen to walk out onto the pitch with his favourite player Jack Grealish as a mascot for a match.
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Hide AdThe football player has shown his support for Carter once more by tweeting to his 242.5k followers the fundraising appeal, which can be found at www.gofundme.com/f/help-get-carter-to-australia