A FORMER South Cheshire College student is celebrating winning a gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympics.

Wheelchair athlete Andrew Small was cheered on by his family watching back home as he triumphed in the games' T33 100m final yesterday (Monday).

Andrew was inspired to take up wheelchair athletics, initially as a hobby, after watching disabled athletes in action at the London Paralympic Games in 2012.

At the time he was studying AS-Level in Psychology and Sociology in Crewe and training at Stockport Harriers, where he game under the guidance of former Great Britain coach Rick Hoskins.

The Nantwich-based para-athlete was loaned his first racing wheelchair, which set him on the route to success.

He went on to claim a bronze medal at the Rio games in 2016 and five years on the 28-year-old made years of dedication and preparation count when he edged defending champion Ahmad Almutairi of Kuwait with a winning track time of 17.73 seconds.

Andrew, whose impairment is the result of nerve damage, said: "It hasn't sunk in yet and it might hit me in the next couple of days. It means a lot to me as my family are my biggest supporters, my support team and my coach, Rick."

A video posted on Paralympic GB's Facebook page showing jubilant scenes among Andrew's family and friends, led by father, Steve, who was a teacher at Kings Grove/Oaks Academy in Crewe, has been watched nearly 100,000 times.