Ex-disability darts champion calls on people to take up the sport

An ex-serviceman and former disability darts world champion said he wanted more people to take up the sport.

Snowy Dyson, who lives in Arlesey in Bedfordshire, became a double amputee in 2016.

He had always been a keen darts player and began playing from his wheelchair after his operation.

Mr Dyson said he wanted to make people with disabilities aware there were "sports out there for us and darts is one of them".

"It helps with my PTSD as I'm concentrating on scoring and the mathematics side of it," he said.

"It doesn't matter if you win or lose, you just go out there and enjoy yourself - it's re-socialising."

The 51-year-old said he was first injured while serving in Northern Ireland.

"I got blown up and they left a little bit of metal in my ankle which got into my blood stream and turned into gangrene," he said.

Mr Dyson went on to work in security and in 2003 he was injured after falling off a stage.

"I went down with a prolapsed disc to the spine and had an operation to take out five discs," he said.

"I ended up as an insulin-dependent diabetic and it turned into diabetic gangrene.

"I had my first leg off in August 2015 and then the other one in July 2016."

Mr Dyson uses a board which can be manoeuvred to different heights in order to play against able-bodied competitors.

In 2019, he was part of a team that won the first ever disability darts world championship.

He said he was hoping the sport could be played at more venues across the UK.

"I'm trying to get to those people that are sitting at home in their four walls just doing nothing," he said.

"I want them to know there are sports out there for us."

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